The Captain and The Espada
by Darryl the son of Perses
Summary: Captain Hyoto Mikadame is said to be the strongest Captain to have ever walked the halls of the Seireitei. He finds a counterpart in Dolemar Vandator, the strongest of Aizen's Espada. This story will focus on two OC's. Lots of action and some romance. OCxUnohana, OCxHarribel
1. Chapter 1

**So I wrote this a couple of months ago for my friend, since we both love Bleach. This story is about two OC's, Hyoto Mikadame and Dolemar Vandator. They are supposedly the strongest beings in the universe and this story centres around their 'adventures'.**

 **My friend eventually persuaded me to upload this, so I did.**

 **Don't expect great quality just yet, it will grow better eventually. I already have th first 5 chapters, so this first one is just a test, or prototype. Upload rates won't be constant, so you'll probably wait a lot. Review if you like, tell me what's good and what isn't. It'll be a long story, so sit tight and enjoy… I guess.**

 **I don't own bleach**

The moon shone brightly. It's soft, white light shining down on the recovering Soul Society. The white buildings seemed to glow a brilliant white. Casting an white glow around the horizon. The stars were sparkling and a gentle breeze was blowing. The trees swaying peacefully in the night.

The Captain, who was walking in one of the many open hallways in Seireitei, sighed contently. Breathing in the fresh air, he could feel a change coming to the Soul Society, a good change, that would make things alright again. ' _This feels nice._ ' He thought with a small smile on his face. ' _It's peaceful again. No more fighting, no more war, just peace._ '

He made his way across the hallway, listening to the beautiful silence that ruled the night. His black Shinigami robes waving softly on the small breeze, his Captain-haori was left in his personal quarters.

Drinking in the sight of a nation at peace. The repaired buildings shining in all their glory again. The sight was beautiful, and it reassured him that they survived another calamity, another threat and became even stronger. The thought however, was enjoyed shortly, for the faces of those who lost their lives to protect this haven of serenity resurfaced. Brothers, sisters, friends, even enemies.

' _So many lives lost. For what?_ ' He balled his fists. A side coming forth, few ever got to see and live to tell about. His dark side, his killing side. ' _I wish I had the chance to drive my blade through his heart and shred his corrupted body! I would've crushed his rotten mind!_ ' He shut his eyes, getting angry was no use now. The war was won and that bastard Aizen was dead. His scowl never left, however.

He sighed. His beautiful night ruined by the traitorous captain of division five. His feet were echoing on the wooden planks that made up the floor. With his eyes glued to the floor, he kept a steady pace and quickly made his way around the corner of the hallway. Not noticing the other captain, until he walked straight into him, falling on his butt.

"Ow, what the- Oh, it's you Juushiro. I'm sorry." The Captain said while rubbing his bum. Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of the 13th division, merely smiled. "None of that. I wasn't paying attention either. It's fine." He said with a smile. "What are you doing up so late, Captain-Hyoto?" Ukitake asked. The man, now identified as Hyoto Mikadame, the Captain of the 14th division, smiled in return. "I thought I told you to drop the Captain, Hyoto is just fine." Ukitake chuckled, "Right, sorry." Hyoto could tell that he wasn't going to, so he just shook his head. "I was enjoying the sight of our home being repaired and that it has survived, again." He said, while looking outwards, over the vast reaches of the Soul Society. "And I was remembering all those lost to one man's ambitions. At least, until I ran into you." Hyoto said, a little downcast. Ukitake looked sadly at his long-time friend. "You shouldn't feel sorry for those who didn't make it. I'm sure that they are looking from wherever they are and can see that we have prevailed. You should not linger on the past, but focus on the future. Remembering them will only lead you to despair." Ukitake spoke, trying to ease his friend. It worked, as Hyoto looked him in the eye, smiled and nodded.

The two Captains made small talk while traversing through the many hallways and corridors. Sharing opinions and talking about how to improve the Soul Society. Who would make the best Head-Captain and other stuff. "How's Rukia Kuchiki by the way? I heard she got hurt pretty badly in Hueco Mundo." Ukitake stared to the ground, before finding a reassuring voice. "She's recovering, not out of the danger zone yet, but recovering. She was nearly dead when Captain-Byakuya found her. She had lost a lot of blood and her right lung had been damaged. Captain-Unohana and the human girl, Orihime Inoue, are doing what they can for her." Ukitake said with a solemn look on his face, clearly worried for his subordinate. Hyoto put a hand on the white-haired captain's shoulder. "She'll pull through, Juushiro. That girl has been through worse many times over." Ukitake turned to face him. "It's not the physical wounds I'm worried about. I can tell by just looking at her face. Something traumatical happened to her, but she refuses to tell anyone, not even Ichigo or Renji. Not even her brother." Ukitake said with a sad and concerned voice. "She has yet to smile since the end of the war." Hyoto was silent. For once he didn't know how to comfort his friend. So he just let his hand drop and said nothing.

The two captains continued to walk in silence. Contemplating what they could do for their injured friends. Juushiro suddenly perked up. "Oh, that's right, I should probably tell you this before I forget again. Head-Captain Yamamoto wants to speak to you. He approached me yesterday, but wouldn't tell me anything else other than that. Do you have any idea why?" Ukitake asked with a curious glint in his eyes. However, his gaze was met with one of confusion. "I have no idea why. Oh god, I hope Shintarou hasn't picked a fight with Ikkaku again." Hyoto groaned exasperatedly. His black-haired Lieutenant had a weird sort of rivalry with the 11th division's third seat. Whenever they could, they would fight and cause tremendous amounts of damage to their immediate area. All of which he had to take responsibility for.

Ukitake chuckled. "Yes, they certainly are a rowdy bunch. You should wear your Captain's haori this time though when you visit him, you know how much Head-Captain Yamamoto cares about punctuality." Hyoto sighed, remembering last time when he didn't wear it. Yamamoto had nearly given him the belt. "Yeah, yeah, I'll wear it." Ukitake chuckled again. "I do hope nothing is wrong. Well, I have to check on Captain-Kyoraku, he's probably passed out from sake again. See you again sometime, Captain-Hyoto." Ukitake said with a wave of his hand.

"Drop the Captain damnit!" Hyoto said with a fake angry voice. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Geez, that illness of him is affecting his brain." He muttered with a small grin. 'Still, I wonder what the Old man wants to talk about.' He thought, as a contemplative look crossed his face. He made his way to the 14th division barracks, ready for some sleep. He also needed to check up on some of his squad members.

He was walking towards the door of his private quarters, deciding to do all that stuff in the morning. He found that his stress levels were already high enough, and his bum hurt. When he was almost at his door, he caught a figure walking in the hallway to his right, it was Shintarou, his Lieutenant. His back was facing Hyoto. Hyoto called after him. "Oi! Shintarou!" The black haired Lieutenant turned around with a bored expression, his punk hair lightly sweeping around. The sides of his head were shaven. It showed a scar, three gashes on the left side of his head. "What?" He called back in slight irritation. His ebony eyes showing little to no emotion, except annoyance and boredom.

Hyoto caught up with him and started walking next to him. "Captain-Ukitake told me that Head-Captain Yamamoto wanted to talk to me. Do you have any idea why?" Shintarou rolled his eyes and looked ahead. "I didn't start a fight with Ikkaku again, if that's what you're getting at." He said with a slight accusing tone. Hyoto laughed sheepishly and put a hand behind his head. "No, no of course not! That's not what I meant at all. I would never think that. I was just curious, that's all." Shintarou gave him a look that said he clearly didn't believe him, but continued to walk and remained silent.

They kept silent for a couple of minutes, quietly walking through the empty hallway. Shintarou not saying a word and Hyoto patiently waiting for Shintarou to speak. After another quiet minute, Shintarou finally spoke.

"I don't know anything about that. But Rangiku told me that Toshiro-" He was cut off by a cough from Hyoto. "Pardon, Captain-Hitsugaya." Shintarou said with an annoyed tone and a mild glare. "Anyway, she said that he was called to the Old man's office for a private meeting. She couldn't get him to say anything else than that. But you might be better of asking him about it." Hyoto sighed at the rude way of speaking of his lieutenant. "Then I might as well wait until tomorrow when I have the meeting with the Head-Captain. Captain-Hitsugaya just left a few hours ago for a mission. He's probably away for a couple of days." Shintarou merely shrugged. "Tough luck."

The Captain and lieutenant kept walking, eventually reaching a balcony that overlooked a garden. The garden stood full of cherry blossom trees and in the middle was a pond dug out, filled with sparkling blue water that shone underneath the night sky. White dots reflecting the countless stars.

"Wish we got to go on a mission." Shintarou began. "It's been so boring lately. Everyone is too busy to go exploring with me." He said with a sigh.

"We've just fought a war. We're recovering and rebuilding our home right now. Of course people are busy. And what you call exploring, others call a suicide mission to Hueco Mundo."

"But even Zaraki is busy. He's never busy. All he does is fight people. What could he possibly be doing?" Shintarou complained.

Hyoto groaned, tired of this argument. He had to hear it for over three months. "Captain-Kenpachi is on a mission in the world of the living. And the rest of 11th division is either with him or in the 4th division's barracks." Hyoto looked at Shintarou's sad expression and sighed. "Look, if you want to go on a mission, you can go to the Rukongai and see if there's anyone interesting."

"Fine. There's nothing else to do anyway. It's better than nothing." Shintarou complained, walking away. "I'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go have fun." Hyoto said exhausted. 'That kid would fight the entire Gotei 13 out of boredom.' He thought. He turned around to face the garden again. Thinking about how hot-tempered his lieutenant was.

"How long are you going to hide, Dolemar?" Hyoto said with a stoic expression.

"Aww, come on man, that's no fun. Why did you call me out, I was gonna scare you." The Ultima Espada whined like a little kid. He jumped down from the roof and landed right beside Hyoto with an amused expression.

"The only thing 'fun' about that, is that you actually thought you could scare me. Or sneak up on me for that matter."

Dolemar tch-ed him and too rested his gaze upon the garden. "My, my, Soul Society sure is beautiful. I enjoy this much better than that endless white desert of Hueco Mundo. And the sand gets in literally everywhere. Do you know how annoying it is to have sand in your mask? It fucking hurts." Dolemar said, while pointing at the hollow mask fragment that covered the lower-half of his face.

Hyoto chuckled, not flinching at the foul language. He looked at Dolemar. He was wearing his usual Arrancar outfit, a white blouse with one short sleeve and one long sleeve, both outlined in black. His white hakama pants were also donned. His facial mask shone a bright white, hiding his challenging grin from sight and accentuating his crimson eyes. It covered the lower half of his face and was decorated by two rows of vicious looking canine-teeth. His jet-black hair was spiked as normally, but a lot longer now. "So, I suppose you're the reason the Head-Captain wants to talk to me?" Hyoto asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows, perhaps that scientist freak has blown up some other soul reaper and he wants you to clean up the mess. Should be expected from the Old man's lapdog." Dolemar finished with a challenging smirk.

Hyoto sighed at the attempt to lure a fight out of him. "Don't even bother, I'm not interested. How did you even get here?"

Dolemar grinned at his rival. "Oh please, don't be surprised. Your security is nothing for me. Besides, it's not as if you're able to stop me, let alone sense me. Getting here was easy." Dolemar said, while crossing his arms and leaning against the balcony.

"How do you know I won't try to stop you?" Hyoto questioned.

"Because that would mean fighting me. And I don't see you destroying the place you were dying for to protect just a couple of months ago. Not to discourage you to fight me of course, please do feel free to challenge me." He responded with a challenging grin.

Hyoto sighed, something he did too much today for his liking. He too started to lean against the balcony. "so, why are you here?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

Dolemar grinned at him. "Why, to see my favourite rival of course! I need to make sure no one else kills him besides me." He answered in a voice with mock care.

"Dolemar, we are the strongest beings in this existence. No one can kills us besides ourselves. Now drop the act and tell me the actual reason." Hyoto responded harshly.

Dolemar deflated for a bit. Sadness creeping into his eyes. "That will be explained when the Old man talks to you tomorrow." He said with a sad voice.

"So you were the reason. What, is something wrong?" Hyoto inquired.

"There is some trouble back in Hueco Mundo. Something I or any of the other Espada can't solve. And I'd rather not have to deal with it the hard way, like before."

"Man, that seems like an eternity ago. Brings back memories." Hyoto said, with a small smile creeping up his face.

"Sure does." Dolemar agreed with a matching smile.

 _ **(100 years ago)**_

It was chaos in Soul Society. Just three hours ago, the 12th division detected an enormous amount of reiatsu in Hueco Mundo. The largest ever recorded, assuming it was coming from a hollow. The reiatsu they detected surpassed that of the Captains, even rivalling that of the Head-Captain. Panic had struck the captains when this was announced and they immediately constructed an emergency response squad, consisting out of Hyoto himself, his Lieutenant Harasaki Iroto and a few more squad members. They were to immediately depart to Hueco Mundo, find the source of the reiatsu and if need be, destroy it. The only people strong enough to fight it, were Hyoto and the Head-Captain, the choice was obvious.

Hyoto stood before the Senkeimon, ready to leave and waiting for his lieutenant. His third-seat, Byakuya Kuchiki, grandson of Ginrei Kuchiki; a noble who had taken over the 6th division after Hyoto's father had died, stood beside him. "This is why you should make me Lieutenant, Captain-Hyoto. Harasaki is always late." Byakuya said with a frown. He had a clear distaste for the lieutenant. He thought he was lousy, lazy and noisy. While Hyoto could relate to the lazy, he knew that Harasaki was very kind and helpful towards others, even Byakuya.

"Lieutenant-Harasaki is not late, he is rounding up all those who are going with us. And that is exactly the reason why you aren't Lieutenant, you are to rash. Have patience." Hyoto said amused. "And what I want you to do is very important, something I would entrust to my Lieutenant, but can't since he is coming with me. I want you to look after the division. Would you not say, that that is a Lieutenant's task?"

Byakuya huffed, but said nothing in return. Clearly out of arguments. Hyoto looked back towards the entrance of the gigantic coliseum-like building that housed the Senkeimon, and saw his lieutenant approaching with four other Shinigami. Once they made their way over to the duo, they quickly stood in line. "I'm sorry it took so long Captain, it took a while to find them all." Harasaki said with a bow of his head. Byakuya tch-ed and shook his head disapprovingly. "That's fine Harasaki. It doesn't matter."

Harasaki looked up and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Captain. I have brought Gyura Hasuke, fifth-seat, Lin Rinjin, seventh-seat, Chisuru Marisaki, fourth-seat and Izaho Kaseta, sixth-seat." The men nodded their heads when their respective names were called. "They are willing to put their lives on the line for this mission, just as you requested." Harasaki finished. This surprised Hyoto. He had always thought he had a good relationship with his subordinates. He had once asked for volunteers for a mission and got well over twenty volunteers. "And they are all who volunteered?" Hyoto asked astonished. Harasaki looked startled for a moment. "No, Captain. There were fifty-seven volunteers, but I thought that a small group would be more efficient for this mission. It is basically a recon mission, so I figured we would want to move fast and light. If we had too much people with us, we would be more easily detected and ambushed. I also thought it would be best to have small numbers so we wouldn't emit too much reiatsu. So I picked the most members possible, with the highest amount of battle power, without losing stealth." Harasaki explained.

Hyoto stood with his mouth agape. He hadn't even thought of that. "W-well good th-thinking, I guess. Although I would've preferred to have at least six volunteers, I agree with your theory about a stealth approach." Hyoto said to Harasaki. He turned to the volunteers. "I thank you for coming with me and risking your lives. This might be the last mission you will ever have. The danger level is maximum. I will give you one chance to leave with your lives. After this, you're in it to the end. Are you still willing to participate in this mission?" Hyoto asked with an authorative voice. He looked everyone in the eye, looking for doubt. He was met with determined looks. Chisuru stepped forth and spoke. "I think I speak for everyone here, that we're willing to die for you and the Soul Society, Captain. You'll have no hesitation or cowardice from us."

Hyoto looked in pride at his subordinates. This is what true leadership entails. A leader who thinks of his men as brothers, and men who follow their leader through the depths of hell and to death itself if needed. "Thank you, brothers. We will come back to the Soul Society. Now, we're going to go through the Senkeimon and land in Hueco Mundo. Once there we will quickly move out. Captain-Urahara has made it so that we will land 10 miles south of the area where the reiatsu was detected. We'll need to head towards the detection zone immediately, for the Senkeimon will attract unnecessary attention. Once we're at the detection zone, we'll locate and eliminate the target. Refrain from killing it the second we find it, Captain-Urahara would like to examine it. After that we'll contact the Soul Society and they'll bring us back. Is everything understood?" Hyoto looked at everyone present. He was met with a chorus of 'Yes captain' or 'Yes sir'. He looked at Byakuya again. "Will you look after our division, Byakuya. Can I count on you?" Byakuya looked at him with a determined face. "Of course, Captain." He said with a nod. Hyoto smiled. "Okay everyone, move out!"

They moved through the Senkeimon, quickly finding themselves on a path of blue reishi established by Hyoto's reiatsu. Around them was a pitch-black darkness, that ended in complete nothingness. They were walking for what seemed like ages.

"I thought the Principe World was disturbing enough. This is even worse." Lin said. They were all looking around, in astonishment as well as in disgust.

"Keep in line. From what I understand from Captain-Urahara, you will be caught in eternal nothingness if you fall of the path." Hyoto warned the others. They continued to run on the light blue path, Hyoto leading the way. Harasaki following directly after him. Chisuru was next, then Lin and after him Gyura. And as last was Izaho. They had a good pace going and everything was going smoothly so far, until Gyura slipped and almost fell into the nothingness, if Izaho didn't catch him. "Careful Gyura, this thing is very tricky if you don't watch your step. Everyone, pay attention to the others, as well as your own feet. Let's get at our destination in one piece." Hyoto said to them. "Let's go, were almost there."

They were running again, the reiatsu path leading them on. At the end of the path a light appeared, ripping open the black nothingness. Hyoto's eyes widened. "There it is! Hurry up before it closes!" He said as he started sprinting, the others following in his footstep. They were getting closer and closer, until they burst through and found themselves on the other side. Except they were fifty feet above the ground. They all tumbled down to the ground and formed an undignified heap on the sandy ground of Hueco Mundo.

"Ow, damn that blonde idiot." Izaho grumbled, earning several agreements from his teammates and a grunt from Hyoto. Once they were all standing and had dusted off their clothes, they started to look around. They had not been given a description of what Hueco Mundo looked like. So they were all quite surprised with what they saw, even Hyoto.

"Wow, looks really, really… peaceful." Gyura mused. "I expected it to look more like hell, flames and that sort of stuff. Mountains of skeletons and forests of obsidian. Not a desert."

Indeed, as far as they could look was desert. Dunes of white sand stretched far beyond the horizon. Little glass trees sprouted out of the sand every now and then. A half-full moon shone in the sky. The stars however, were absent. A chilly breeze enveloped them, sending shills down their spines. "This feels… inhumane. Only monsters would be able to survive here." Harasaki said. "Don't be too quick in your judgement. Soul Society also has a lot of flaws that could be considered inhumane. Take the Rukongai for example. You should know that better than anyone." Hyoto scolded Harasaki. Harasaki looked down.

Harasaki was born in the Rukongai. For the first half of his life he had no home. He lived on the streets and survived on trash. Every day he spent begging for money or food. His parents had abandoned him. He was alone.

Until Hyoto found him, when he was wondering through the Rukongai. He was recently appointed Captain of the 6th Division. The division Hyoto's father proudly led. Hyoto had taken over from Ginrei Kuchiki, who had volunteered to lead the division after Hyoto's father was killed and he was still too young.

Hyoto took him in and raised him. Although Harasaki began as a thirteenth-seat, he showed quickly that he had potential to be a higher ranked Shinigami and rapidly rose through the ranks. Now he was the lieutenant.

"I know, sorry Captain." Harasaki muttered. Hyoto looked at him with a proud smile. Harasaki had achieved so much. He started from nothing and fought his way to the title of lieutenant. Hyoto was proud.

Hyoto was about to say something, when he was cut off by a loud hollow scream. They all immediately turned towards the direction the sound came from. "Crap, they found us." Chisuru exclaimed. Hyoto went into Captain-mode, as his subordinates called it. "Stay calm, Captain-Urahara made it so that we would land south of where the reiatsu was first detected. The north is… that way! Quickly, let's go." They shunpo-ed away. Hearing the hollow screams become fainter and fainter. Lin looked back, seeing nothing but sensing the hollows were now at where they were just a minute ago. "That was fast. We haven't even been here for five minutes." Lin commented. "Aye, Hueco Mundo is filled with reishi, maybe even more than Soul Society. Hollows will be stronger here." Hyoto explained. "But so will we."

They shunpo-ed further for a little while, before coming to a halt once they could no longer sense any hollows. They landed on a large dune, that gave them a good view of their surroundings. "I think we lost them. We should be safe here, so let's discuss our plan of action." Harasaki proposed. "What do you mean plan of action? Did you not already discuss that?" Gyura asked astonished. "We don't need a plan. Our goal is to find the source of reiatsu and kill it." Lin said, while overlooking the vast desert that was Hueco Mundo. "Did it ever occur to you we might not be able to kill something with that amount of reiatsu?" Chisuru groaned at the dumb comment from Lin. "That's why we need a plan of action. We need to form a strategy." Harasaki said.

"Everyone, Shut up!" Hyoto yelled. Quelling the arising argument. "What we need to focus on now is how to find that reiatsu without alerting it of our presence." He silenced them. No one spoke a word, because they all noticed something. A low rumbling sound resonated throughout the ground. The sand started to shift and churn. "Uhm… Is it just me, or is the sand sinking?" Izaho asked with a slight fearful expression as the sand started to sink. A whirlpool started to form and the rumbling got louder. "What the-AAAAAHHHHH" Harasaki muttered, before the sand came down and took them all below, screaming all the way down.

Hyoto looked around him as he fell. Strange rock formations, as high as the towers of the Soul Society, sprouted from the ground. They were carrying, what he now realised as the desert. The fall down was long, at least three-hundred feet deep. They crashed into the ground, hard and heavy. A dust cloud shrouded them for a moment before dissipating and revealing six dishevelled Shinigami.

Hyoto was the first to his feet. He grunted. "Everyone okay?" All he heard were moans of pain. "alright, what the hell! What in the living hell happened!?" Lin exclaimed, slowly getting on his feet again. Gyura was also getting up. "Now this is what I pictured Hueco Mundo would look like. Dark and creepy." The rest were all on their feet now and staring up.

"Man, that was a long fall. How high up is that?" Harasaki mused. They were so deep down that they couldn't even see the top of the weird rock structures, nor the hole from which they came. Hyoto looked astonished at the darkened sky above them. "There's a desert above a forest of… stone or, whatever. Who would've known…" Hyoto mused to himself.

They were suddenly alerted by a flare of reiatsu. It was large, but not as massive as the one detected by the 12th division and not nearly as dense. It startled the group. They all turned the same direction while gripping their sword handles tightly. "What the hell was that?" Chisuru asked.

Hyoto's mind raced. 'It was not the one we were looking for, it was not strong enough. It is not one of normal hollows either. Menos Grande? No, it was too large for that. Vasto Lorde? No, it was not dense enough.' Hyoto faced his comrades. "Prepare yourself, it's probably an Adjuchas. We can handle one of them, but be aware of any tricks it might have." He said. The others nodded and drew their weapons. The sound of swords leaving their sheaths was heard for a brief moment.

"Steady, keep your guard up." Gyura said. He was nervously looking around just like the others. They didn't know what to expect. The reiatsu flare had been fluctuating, but was getting closer now. "I can't sense where it's coming from." Harasaki said. "It's everywhere around us." He said with a slight panicking tone.

"Calm down everyone, this is what we were trained to do." Hyoto tried to reassure them. He was going to say something else, but was interrupted when something shiny caught his eye. A red light was shining somewhere in between the rocky trees. His eyes widened in realisation.

"Cero! Everyone get away!" Hyoto screamed. They whipped their heads towards him, before following his words and dashing of in some direction. Hyoto landed about a hundred meters away, right next to Harasaki, when the cero hit the ground on which they stood just a second ago. It exploded and filled the air with fire and smoke.

The others landed next to them as well. They all perked up when they heard a taunting laugh. A figure came forth from the shadows of the tall rocky trees.

"Hehehe, looks like our trap didn't work." The figure chuckled. "What a bummer, I was hoping you would die. Then it would be much easier to eat you." The figure walked into the light, revealing a hollow. It was at least eight feet tall and wore a terrifying hollow mask. It had forward pointing teeth and small slits for eyes. Four horns protruded from the edges of the mask, giving him a devil-like appearance. His glowing red eyes were fixated on the six Shinigami.

"Not that you escaping that cero mattered, you're still going to die." The hollow growled with malice. Hyoto looked him right in the eye. "Who are you?" He asked with anger. The hollow just merely laughed at him. "I see no obligation to tell you, you are dead anyway." It said. "Come forth Menos and slay these pitiful Shinigami!" It yelled.

The shadows between the trees started to move, revealing thirty Menos Grande, all roaring. They were closing in on them. Hyoto turned towards his companions. "I'll take on the Adjuchas, you guys focus on stopping those Menos." He ordered. The rest all nodded and charged the Menos.

Hyoto looked back to the Adjuchas and drew his sword. "You're going to regret this, hollow." He said menacingly. Hyoto got in a fighting stance, pointing his sword straight at the hollow. He could hear his comrades clashing with the Menos. 'If I was alone, I could deal with these pests by myself, but I can't hurt the others.' He thought. "Now stand still, I will make this quick." He said before he lunged at the hollow, bringing his sword in a downward arc. It was met however, with the right arm of the hollow. Some sort of white armor had formed on the arm. It denied his sword the flesh of the hollow.

The Adjuchas chuckled. "Not so fast, Shinigami. Don't think that you're going to kill me so easily." He said, while pushing Hyoto away with his arm. Hyoto looked at the hollow. "What is that armor? It was not there before." The hollow chuckled again. "This is my armor. My reiatsu forms it. I can use it to stop any attack." It boasted.

Hyoto took his chance and used shunpo to get behind the hollow, right after he finished explaining. He turned his sword so that he was holding it in an ice-pick grip and thrusted backwards, attempting to pierce the hollow from behind. He was surprised however, when his sword just bounced of the hollow. "My hierro is quite strong too, Shinigami." It chuckled, before swinging it's arm around and swatting Hyoto away.

Hyoto crashed into one of the trees, forming a body-sized crater and numerous cracks. He slowly fell from the crater and landed on the ground, his knees buckling as soon as he hit the sand. The tree was bending sideways, the impact had weakened it. It slowly fell to the side, landing with a loud crash.

' _Damnit, I underestimated him. He is strong. I didn't use enough force._ ' Hyoto though as he got to his feet and readied his zanpakuto. ' _But that won't happen again. This time I'll kill him.'_

The hollow laughed. "Was that it, Shinigami? That was not impressive at all. I'm the strongest Adjuchas in the Forest of Menos. No one has cut me since I became an Adjuchas. Just give up and die, it's useless." It growled in his deep, hollow voice. "Face your death, Shinigami!" It yelled. The Adjuchas started charging up a cero in his mouth, failing to notice the small smirk Hyoto had on his face.

Hyoto saw the cero building up. ' _He is right, he might be the strongest Adjuchas I have ever faced off against. That's why I can't underestimate him.'_ Hyoto thought. He started to smirk. The cero was now growing rapidly in size, almost as big as the hollow's head. ' _But I'm a Captain. He shouldn't underestimate Captains, especially me._ '

The cero fired, and Hyoto didn't move. He took the hit full on. The hollow smirked. The cero had completely engulfed the Captain. The ground exploded where the cero hit. Smoke rose up high after the explosion and fire vanished. The hollow started laughing. "So much for a Captain's strength! You disappoint me, Shinigami!" It yelled tauntingly. He kept laughing, harder and harder.

"What are you laughing for, hollow?" A voice snapped. The hollow stopped laughing instantly and abruptly whipped it's head towards the crater of the cero. The smoke dissipated, revealing Hyoto with an outstretched arm and a cocky smirk on his face.

"Impossible…" The hollow muttered. The Captain was completely unharmed. The cero hadn't even singed him. His clothes, his flesh, everything was completely fine. The ground beneath him was still standing, while everything else around it had gotten hit with the cero.

"Surprised, hollow? What did you think would happen, you are facing a Captain of the Soul Society. Some of the strongest Shinigami that have walked through the halls of the Seireitei. Did you actually think a mere Adjuchas could defeat us?" Hyoto taunted with a antagonizing grin. He suddenly dashed forwards, appearing in front of the hollow's face before the hollow could realize he had moved.

"Did you really think a mere Adjuchas could hurt me? I'm the strongest Captain to have ever been born in Soul Society." Hyoto smiled a menacing smile. "You are nothing compared to me. The only reason you stopped my blade twice, was because I underestimated you and didn't use enough force." He said. The hollow started shaking, his eyes betraying his fear.

Hyoto suddenly disappeared again, this time standing on the ground instead of in front of the hollows face, the movement of his action created a shockwave that lifted small rocks and dust in the air. He spun his leg upwards and kicked the Adjuchas in the head, sending him flying into the sky. He shunpo-ed above him and kicked him down again. The hollow landed with a loud crash, a crater formed beneath him.

The Adjuchas was in pain. His body was nearly shattered with the second hit. His head nearly crumbled from the first one. The Shinigami Captain landed twenty feet in front of him. The Adjuchas was startled and in fear shot another cero. The red beam of energy shooting forward towards the Captain. Hyoto merely twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the cero that now exploded somewhere behind him.

He shunpo-ed again, appearing right in front of the Adjuchas, his arm already up for an attack. "Now die, hollow." Hyoto growled. He brought his zanpakuto down in a downward arc, trying to cleave it in half. The hollow tried in vain to stop the strike by bringing his armored arms up to block it. He screamed in pain when the blade cut right through it and severed his arms.

The hollow fell to the ground, staring in shock at the severed arms in front of him, blood spilling onto the ground. He looked up to see Hyoto in another attack position. It had no chance to react to the sight, as the Captain's blade cut its head clean of its shoulders. The hollow dissipated in small, black ash-particles, it's soul send to the cycle of reincarnation.

"Foolish hollow, to think he could beat a Captain." Hyoto said. He looked around for his companions. They had all gone off somewhere to fight the Menos, leaving only trails of destruction behind. Hyoto could tell that multiple cero's were fired. Some trees were cut in half, there were numerous craters and holes in the sandy ground. "Be careful guys, I'm coming." He muttered to himself.

Although he knew they could take care of themselves, he was still a little worried. They didn't know if there were more Adjuchas, or even a Vasto Lorde. And some hollows had the ability to hide their reiatsu.

He caught a flare of reiatsu from Izaho. He immediately shunpo-ed towards it. "Be careful guys."

.o0x0o.

Chisuru had face off against Menos many times before. He was quite strong despite of being a fourth-seat. He could easily be a higher rank, but couldn't because everyone else in the 6th division was strong as well. But Chisuru didn't care about ranks. He felt at home in the barracks, and with the people of the 6th division, the people there made him feel welcome and protected. The cero of a Menos soared past his head and ignited the ground behind him.

Now however, he wasn't feeling very protected. They had somehow been forced to split up by the Menos. The Menos had surrounded them and were threatening to overwhelm them. Harasaki had made the decision to 'divide and conquer' as he called it. They had made a portion of the Menos Grande follow them by emitting reiatsu and dashing off in some direction.

Chisuru dodged another cero. ' _Damn these giants, give me a damn break._ ' Chisuru thought angrily. They had been firing cero's non-stop. He was able to dodge them, but couldn't launch any counterattacks. ' _Sometimes I think these Menos aren't as stupid as everyone says they are._ ' He thought.

He had to dodge another cero. He gritted his teeth. These cero's were getting closer and he was starting to loose speed due to tiredness. He decided to attack. He stretched his arm and hand and pointed towards a random Menos which was charging up a cero in its mouth. "Hado #31, Shakkahō!" He exclaimed. A red beam of energy shot from his hand and soared towards the Menos. The beam collided with the cero that was charging up and exploded in the Menos' face. The creature howled in pain.

Chisuru quickly followed up, not missing his chance. He shunpo-ed to the Menos' head and swung his zanpakuto downwards, cleaving it's head in two. The Menos dissipated in black particles.

He had no time to rest, as another cero was shot at him. He quickly shunpo-ed away. There were still five Menos left. _'Damn, these do not go down easily.'_ He thought. He looked around him. ' _And the others are nowhere near me. So teaming up is no-go._ ' He sighed. It seemed he might have to use his shikai. ' _Damn, I didn't want to use this so early on, but it seems I have no choice._ '

He raised his zanpakuto. "Shred, Sharikahan!" Chisuru yelled. His zanpakuto transformed into a large shuriken. It started to glow in a faint yellowish aura. Chisuru held his weapon in front of him and started to spin it. "Look what you made me do, stupid mindless hollows." Chisuru said angrily. " Might as well finish this immediately." He muttered. "Divided strike!" He yelled. The shuriken glowed a bright yellow now. And with the spinning motion made it look like a large yellow circle. He threw it straight at a Menos, however, in the middle of its flight it multiplied. Four identical shuriken formed from the original, each flying at a different Menos. They pierced their heads, each slicing through like a knife through butter.

Chisuru sighed, he had killed them. The Menos slowly fell to the ground, dissipating in black-particles while falling. The four mimic shuriken disappeared while the original flew back into Chisuru's hand. He undid his shikai and went to sheath his zanpakuto. That mistake nearly cost him his life. A sixth Menos had been hiding behind the others and had fired a cero. The red beam was aimed straight at Chisuru. He couldn't block it since he had undone his shikai. He tried to dodge, but couldn't get out of the way completely. His left arm was caught by the cero, singing it a bright red.

' _Crap!_ ' Chisuru thought, while gritting his teeth in pain. ' _Damn Menos'_. His sword arm was now incapacitated. He didn't know any healing kido, not that he had any time to cast a kido. He grunted as he grasped his burnt arm. The Menos was approaching the incapacitated Shinigami, closing in for the kill. But Chisuru wouldn't be killed so easily.

' _Time to resort to hado._ ' He raised his unburnt arm and pointed his hand to the Menos. "Hado #58, Tenran!" He yelled. Wind started to flow from his hand, rapidly growing into a full-blown tornado and shot towards the Menos. It made the creature stagger, giving Chisuru enough time to use shunpo and appear behind the Menos. "Hado #33, Sōkatsui!" He yelled. A bolt of blue energy shot from his hand and hit the Menos straight in the back of the head. It did not kill it however. The Menos toppled forward for a bit, but quickly rose up again and turned around, a cero already charged in his mouth. The moment it found Chisuru, it released the cero. The red beam shot towards Chisuru, who narrowly avoided it.

' _Damnit, I need to get closer. Otherwise my attacks won't do anything!_ ' Chisuru thought as he yet again dodged a cero. 'The tactic with Tenran seemed to work. Now I just need to get closer and use a more powerful hado.' He strategized. He quickly put his plan to action, shunpo-ing in front of the Menos. "Hado #58, Tenran!" He yelled again, as yet again a tornado shot from his outstretched hand. The creature was again staggered. ' _Okay, so that works, but it is not enough!_ ' Chisuru thought. "Hado #58, Tenran!" He kept screaming, releasing one Tenran after another. So much, it eventually made the Menos fall over and land on his back on the ground. ' _Now's my chance!_ ' Chisuru thought, as he began chanting the incantation he had been preparing. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man!..." The Menos was slowly getting back up. "On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens!" The Menos was now standing up. It had noticed Chisuru standing awfully close with blue energy forming in between his hands. It began charging up a cero. "Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" Chisuru yelled.

A brighter bolt of energy now shot from Chisuru's hand, one much bigger and stronger than before. It hit the Menos straight in the face. It exploded in a bright blue explosion. The Menos' head was flung backwards by the force of the impact. The cero had become unstable due to the explosion of the hado and too exploded, killing the Menos in an explosion of red and blue.

Chisuru was panting, that was the strongest hado he had ever cast. He slowly started to float down to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. ' _Damn, that was tough._ ' He thought dryly. He grasped his burnt arm again. It was stinging, the pain almost unbearable. ' _Crap, now I'm pretty much useless._ ' He thought sadly. He started getting angry. ' _The hell am I going to do now. I can't do anything!_ '

He was brought out of his frustrated thoughts by a flare of reiatsu. ' _That's Izaho._ ' He thought. He quickly shunpo-ed to his location. Something was wrong.

.o0x0o.

The six Menos that followed him were surrounding him, cutting him off from his teammates. Cero's were fired, but none reached him. A barrier of pure reiatsu stopped the many blasts. The figure dashed around the Menos, blocking attacks and dealing out his own. The Menos were slow, but certainly weren't unable to outmanoeuvre him. There were many times in which he had to quickly switch directions in order to avoid a Menos.

' _Why were there so many? Ten we could've handled, twenty maybe. But there had to be thirty, thirty goddamn Menos._ ' Gyura thought annoyed. He had already been forced to use his shikai, almost right off the bat. He had hoped to take them out one by one, but that strategy proved to be a failure.

Gloves now covered his hands, leaving the finger tips bare. The gloves were a black colour, decorated with red swirls leading up his fingers. Metal plates covered the tops of his hands. He raised his hands and formed another orange colored reiatsu barrier as a cero was shot at him. He immediately followed up with a ball of reiatsu, which he shot at the nearest Menos. It exploded in impact, but did little damage.

' _Crap._ ' Gyura thought. ' _My shikai isn't doing much. And my reiatsu is draining. We shouldn't have split up._ ' He shunpo-ed away again to avoid another incoming attack. He turned around to launch an attack, when he was swatted away by another Menos. He crashed into one of the many rocky trees, leaving a body-sized crater behind. He fell on a tree branch once the force of the attack started to fade, making him come lose from the crater.

He coughed up a little blood. ' _Damn, I need to watch my back.'_ He thought while gritting his teeth. ' _Still… Something is off. They are way too much coordinated than they usually are._ ' He gazed at the Menos with an investigating look. He had been swatted away quite a distance, giving him some time to catch his breath and devise a strategy.

' _I need to kill 'em one on one. So I must separate them, but how…?_ ' He looked around, slowly forming a plan.

' _If I can get them to follow me, then I can make them walk through those trees. Forcing them to lose their tight formation._ ' The Menos were now very close to him, in attacking range. One already started charging up a cero. Gyura dodged the red beam and shunpo-ed away to another tree branch.

' _I can't afford to spent too much reiatsu to lure them. Otherwise I won't have enough to form attacks._ ' He stood crouched upon the tree branch, overlooking his incoming enemies. They were approaching slowly, but surely. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He shouldn't had taken on six Menos. He was only a fifth seat, there was no way he could defeat them all. He would be lucky if he even survived this encounter.

The Menos were in firing range yet again, forcing Gyura to shunpo to another tree. He landed on a low hanging tree branch, about half way the height of the Menos. They had tracked him however and had turned towards him. One of them started charging up a cero and pointed it straight at him.

The cero struck the tree and caused a large explosion, blasting through it and cutting it in half. The tree fell onto the ground with a loud crash. Gyura barely had any time to get out of the way and dodged just a second before the cero hit. He dashed to the nearest tree, simultaneously raising his hands while in the air. "Hado #31, Shakkahō!" He shouted. Red energy formed around his gloved hands. It shot out towards a Menos, resulting in a red explosion, much larger than normal. The blast was strong enough to crack the Menos' mask.

Gyura smirked at the effect his shikai had. It enhanced all of his kido and it also allowed him to form any sort of attack, as long as it consisted out of reiatsu. Basically, it allowed him to form weapons and attacks with pure reiatsu. He could also combine kido and attacks. Although, his shikai alone drained a lot of reiatsu. Combining kido and his attacks was even more draining. But this technique might just be what he needed.

He dodged another cero and dashed to another tree branch. Once he landed he formed a reiatsu ball and infused it with Hado #33, Sōkatsui, giving it an extra boost. The orange ball of reiatsu now crackled with blue lightning, signalling the fusion of the attack and the hado to be successful. He aimed it at the Menos standing closest. ' _Now, to time this right…_ ' He thought in concentration, planning his move.

And indeed, as he anticipated the Menos started to charge up a cero. When the cero was about to be fired, Gyura moved and shunpo-ed closer to the Menos, shooting the Sōkatsui infuse ball of reiatsu at the cero, making it blow up in the Menos' face. He immediately created a huge battle axe out of reiatsu and, just to be sure he got the kill, infused it with Hado #31, Shakkahō and flung through the dust cloud that originated with the explosion. He cleaved the head of the Menos' cleanly in half. It disappeared in black ash-particles.

' _One down, five to go._ ' Gyura thought, as he shunpo-ed behind a Menos that had been disorientated by Gyura's attacks. It stumbled for a few steps, before finding it's foothold and straightening up. It never got the chance to turn towards Gyura, since said person drove a Sōkatsui infused reiatsu spear through the back of its head. This Menos too, dissolved in ash-like particles.

Gyura grinned. ' _And that was number two. Now the other four._ ' He said in his mind. He went back to dashing from tree branch to tree branch, dodging cero's like he had before. Menos were, overall, considered to be non-thinking creatures. Going by pure instinct. So using the same tactic on them should work. But Gyura wasn't so sure that these Menos were only driven by instinct. They seemed too clever for his liking, too analysing. To prove his suspicions, he tried to repeat his tactic off waiting for a cero, attack with a reiatsu ball and finish it off by striking the head. He had to time his attacks perfectly.

He waited for a Menos to charge up a cero. Eventually he caught a glimpse of red from somewhere behind the other Menos. ' _What? Is it going to blast right through?_ ' Gyura asked himself astonished. To his surprise, the other Menos got out of the way of the cero, giving it a clear path.

Gyura's eyes widened in surprise. He had never seen this kind of behaviour before. It was truly mindboggling behaviour from simple Menos. They were supposed to be mindless and thoughtless. They had moved away from a fellow Menos' attack, not only giving it the space it needed, but also keeping him from getting close, since he would be trapped if he went to strike the Menos. But he couldn't let this chance slip to damage an enemy.

When the cero was about to be released, Gyura fired a blast of reiatsu, hitting the cero and making it explode. The Menos was not disintegrating, signalling it hadn't been killed yet. Gyura then got an idea. ' _I could change my strategy and go long ranged._ ' He thought.

He formed a seven foot long reiatsu spear and infused it with Hado #33, Sōkatsui. He threw the spear as hard as he could. It went through the smoke, clearing it. He heard a hollow scream and once the smoke cleared, it was revealed that the Menos had been killed.

The other Menos let out their own hollow screams, enraged by the loss of their comrade. This event blew Gyura's mind. ' _What the hell is going on!? Menos have started caring for eachother?_ ' He thought, completely bewildered. He shook his head. ' _Impossible!_ ' He exclaimed inside his head.

The Menos charged up cero's all at the same time, narrowing in on him. It gave him almost no chance to escape. He couldn't get around, since the Menos had zeroed in on him. They would simply turn their heads and the cero would obliterate him. ' _All those goddamn cero's! It's driving me crazy!_ ' Gyura had had enough of those red beams of hollow energy.

The group of Menos was now too small to divide up in the trees. Only three were left from the original six. He quickly dashed upwards into the sky, right as the cero's fired, destroying some of the trees behind him.

Gyura was sweating profusely. His legs were shaking and he was panting. He didn't have much reiatsu left. If he couldn't take the remaining three Menos out, he would be killed. Either by the Menos or by consuming to much reiatsu. That was the cost of his zanpakuto's shikai ability, it drained a lot of reiatsu.

He shook his head, trying to shake the exhaustion from his body. He needed to concen- trate. One wrong move now could mean the end of him. He narrowed his eyes. These Menos were really getting on his nerve. He nodded his head in determination. _'I will finish this in one move.'_ He thought.

He started gathering as much reiatsu in his gloved hands as he could, while reciting the incantation for Sōren Sōkatsui. Sweat beads dripped down his forehead, shining slightly. He had his eyes closed in complete concentration. He could feel the reiatsu flow to his hands. He was getting really tired however, really fast.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens!" He opened his eyes and glared at the Menos. "Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" He shouted, while pointing his hands towards the Menos. His hands were now covered in a swirling mass of reiatsu, that crackled with deep, blue energy from the hado.

' _This is it! This is my chance!_ ' Gyura thought. He glared at the Menos with conviction and determination. ' _I will kill them!_ ' He yelled aggressively inside his own mind. He outstretched his hands, which had previously been balled into fists, and screamed; "Avenging Fire Shot!"

The reiatsu that had formed around his hands, shot forward at an incredible speed. From the reiatsu formed three, separate balls of reiatsu that each went towards a different Menos. Gyura was gritting his teeth. The amount of pressure it took for him to keep controlling his fusion attack of reiatsu and kido, while basically out of reiatsu, was immense. He nearly fainted from exhaustion and pain.

The Menos tried to intercept the incoming attack with their own, but it was fruitless. The attack shot right through the up charging cero's and killed them instantly. The resulting explosions ripped off the heads of the Menos.

Gyura was now gasping for breath. He was completely out of reiatsu. He collapsed on his knees, in immense pain from the pressure of that attack. He clutched his chest as pain flared through it.

"Dammit!" He exclaimed. It probably wasn't a very good idea to drain himself dry of reiatsu. Although now, he couldn't care less. He was distracted by his aching body. He collapsed on the tree branch, exhausted and unable to move.

' _I'm sorry guys, you'll have to do it without me for now. Hang in there._ ' He thought as he slowly fell into unconsciousness. His eyes fluttering shot. The last sight for him to behold, was the sight of the dissipating hollow's and a flare of reiatsu belonging to Izaho, before he finally fell into the clutches of darkness, and his eyes shut.

.o0x0o.

To be completely honest, Harasaki was a little worried. It was his idea to split up and each draw a number of hollows after them, using their reiatsu as bait. He had called it ' _Divide and Conquer'_. At the moment it seemed like a good idea. But afterwards, it turned out to be a little troublesome and potentially dangerous. Although he was strong enough to take on the eight Menos that had gone after him, he was starting to doubt if the others could handle them. The main reason being, that the hollows seemed different. Their behaviour was slightly off. They acted more like a pack, instead of mindlessly attacking anything in their way like normally.

He glanced around him, his eyes scanning over his surroundings. He shunpo-ed away just in time for an incoming attack. He flashed towards a low-hanging branch on one of the rocky trees, the cero exploding on the ground where he was.

He shunpo-ed back towards the Menos, zanpakuto in hand, ready to strike the foe. He landed on the shoulder of the Menos and sliced at its head. He failed to kill it however, as the Menos shrugged his shoulder, causing Harasaki to lose his footing and thus failed to slice with precision. The attack made a cut on the Menos' mask and the creature screamed in pain, the familiar Hollow's Growl resounding through the Forest of Menos, as the Adjuchas had called it.

Harasaki didn't relent however. He was thrown off the Menos' shoulder and flung to the ground. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the Menos. ' _I'm not done yet!_ ' He thought viciously as he landed on his feet on the ground. "Hado #4, Byakurai!" He growled. A blue bolt of lightning shot from his hands, much more powerful than others could manage. It hit the Menos in the side of the head, killing it.

He had little time to bask in the death of the Menos, as two Menos who had managed to sneak around him, fired cero's at him from the sides. Harasaki shunpo-ed away and landed safely away as the two cero's collided and caused a large explosion.

He narrowed his eyes. And stared at the two Menos. ' _They attacked together and actually moved according to a tactic, outflank the enemy._ ' He analysed with furrowed eyebrows.

' _That's highly unusual. Hollows, especially Menos, should only behave on instinct. They are not known to use tactics._ ' He thought ' _Unless…_ '

He glowered at his opponents. He wanted nothing more than to just slaughter them. But he couldn't use his shikai, Captain-Hyoto told him not to in order to keep their stealth approach of the mission. He debated this argument in his head.

' _It was an order, so I shouldn't use it. But I sensed Chisuru and Gyura already using their shikai's, so why shouldn't I?_ ' He asked himself. He was speeding around the Menos, trying to find an opening. They proved to be more strategically advanced than they usually were.

' _You know damn well why you shouldn't use it. It releases to much reiatsu and will blow your cover by drawing more hollows to you._ ' He answered himself. But he needed to end this quickly. The others were in danger.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a sight that left his jaw opened in shock. His eyes widened in disbelief and he momentarily forgot that he was dashing around, so he impacted against a tree and fell to the ground. He quickly got to his feet and continued to stare at the Menos, two specifically. ' _Wh…What the hell? How is that possible…?_ ' He thought astounded.

Two of the remaining seven Menos had somehow grown arms and had attached themselves to eachother. Their arms started to mold themselves together and they slowly sank into eachother. Harasaki watched in morbid fascination, as the sides of the hollow slowly melted together, until their faces were almost touching. They had composed themselves into one being. It now was twice as wide and had two heads between its massive shoulders. It had also sprouted several more white spikes.

Harasaki stood frozen, with wide eyes and mouth agape. He almost couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. This union of Menos was unheard off. Never had Harasaki witnessed or heard of this, this…monstrosity.

The two Menos heads looked straight at him and growled. A far more fiercer and terrifying scream emerged out of their throats. It pierced the silence that had engulfed the area after their union. Harasaki suddenly felt a spike in reiatsu from the two merged hollows. His eyes widened yet again. ' _It's power level just increased! It is stronger now!_ ' He thought a little panicked.

A massive orb of red, swirling energy assembled in front of the two faces on the merged Menos. It grew massive in size, almost covering both Menos heads. Harasaki could just feel the power rolling off the massive red orb.

Harasaki shakily raised his sword. He had no other choice now. He could not match this monsters strength without his shikai. He snapped his eyes away from the monster and glared at his arm. He would not show weakness, not now. Determination flowed back into him.

' _I've stood against more dangerous hollows than this! I will not give in to fear!_ ' He screamed at himself. He gripped his right arm, which held his sword and forced it to stop shaking. ' _I will take them all down!'_ He gritted his teeth.

"Paralyze, Zariji Hijen." He growled. He started emitting a larger amount of reiatsu. His zanpakuto glowed for a moment and started to change shape. Once the glow had disappeared and the weapon was revealed, it showed that it had slightly grown. It was now about a foot longer and had gotten an extra inch in width. The blade now ended in a more pointy end. The hilt and hand guard remained the same.

The other six Menos had gathered behind the merged Menos, standing in a rough half-moon like circle. If he managed to get closer and behind the merged Menos, he could go in a Circle, kill the seven Menos and attack the merged one from the side. However, he didn't know the reaction speeds of the merged Menos. For all he knew, than thing was faster than him. But before he could do anything, he needed to escape that cero.

Harasaki readied himself for the impact, planning to dodge away at the last second. The red orb still grew in size. Then, faster than he ever could have anticipated, the cero was fired. The red beam travelling at insane speeds that were unheard off from Menos. He barely had any time to get away. He probably wouldn't if he wasn't as strong as he was now.

Although he managed to not get directly hit by the cero, and had managed to get a considerable distance between the impact zone and himself, the shockwave resulting from the explosion still knocked him off his feet.

He was blasted at least fifty feet away, before he rolled back unto his feet. His Shinigami garb was singed, some spots even burned off, revealing blackened skin.

' _Damnit, that cero was more powerful than I had anticipated._ ' He though while he clasped his slightly burned left arm in pain. ' _I need to avoid getting hit by another one, otherwise I might suffer worse wounds._ ' He looked up and his eyes widened in shock. ' _Crap!'_

The merged Menos had already charged up a cero in front of its two faces. This one however, was smaller than the previous one. It also seemed so glow less and had a slightly darker red colour, it was less bright.

Harasaki shunpo-ed to a protruding tree branch that pointed towards the Menos. Not a second to late, since the cero hit the ground he stood on, almost immediately after he had dashed away. It exploded, causing a crater to form where it hit.

' _That one was even faster!_ ' Harasaki thought in astonishment. ' _How is that even possible! I barely dodged the last one._ ' He berated, then noticed the crater once the dust had settled. ' _Although, it seems weaker than the last one. The damage is severely lessened. And I don't think I dodged any further away, and the shockwave didn't reach me._ ' He quickly analyzed, before an idea popped into his head.

' _Could it be that he reduced the damage of the cero, in order to give it more speed?_ ' He questioned. That idea seemed a little complicated, for a Menos that is. But these were not normal Menos, and Harasaki didn't even know how that merging had effected the combined creature. If had made him smarter, it might as well have given him the ability to think strategically.

' _If it is able to change the damage and speed output of its cero, then I need to be careful when I get to close. I might not be able to dodge at that distance._ ' He looked at the six Menos that were standing behind the merged one.

' _They don't seem to be merging. They have had enough time to do so. Are they unable to? Or is it they are waiting for the merged Menos to kill me._ ' He was in a very delicate situation.

The merged Menos was starting to charge up another cero. Harasaki watched carefully if the red orb grew more. The faster cero had not grown to be larger than the two heads. If he could see the tops of the heads, than it would be the fast cero.

Harasaki narrowed his eyes, the cero grew past the heads. ' _Alright, a powerful one. Now it all comes down to timing._ ' He thought. He crouched slightly, ready to jump away and start his assault. ' _Almost…_ '

The cero fired. Harasaki waited until the very last moment. The tree behind him exploded in a bright red explosion of fire. The tree crumbled and debris flew everywhere. The blast of the explosion had actually pushed Harasaki forward a little, causing him to land slightly away from the intended area. Although this didn't matter much. It actually gave him a better chance to hit the Menos head.

He glanced over his shoulder for a moment. The merged Menos still had his back turned towards him. He faced the other Menos again. He jumped up and shunpo-ed towards the nearest one. He had moved so fast, that the Menos still hadn't figured out that he was moving towards them.

He sliced his zanpakuto through the first Menos' head, killing it. He then jumped from the Menos' shoulder towards the next one. He stretched out his arm and pointed towards the Menos' head. "Hado #33, Sōkatsui!" He yelled. He used a more powerful hado, ensuring the kill. The other Menos now started to notice him killing their comrades and turned towards him.

Harasaki managed to slice through one more Menos' head, before he had to dodge a cero, fired by the Menos in the back row. He shunpo-ed towards the nearest tree branch and crouched on it when he reached it.

He gazed at the remaining Menos. There were now four Menos left, including the merged Menos, who had now noticed Harasaki and was preparing to fire another cero. The red orb slowly growing in front of its faces.

Harasaki was starting to get annoyed with the merged hollow. It was keeping him from finishing the other ones off. Harasaki waited a little bit, preparing to dodge when the cero was fired. Until he got an idea. He watched the cero grow and grow, until it was fired. He immediately retaliated by firing a hado at the orb.

"Hado #54, Haien!" He shouted. A purple blast of energy shot from his hand and collided with the cero, creating an explosion that would've knocked Harasaki back if he hadn't reinforced himself with reiatsu.

He dashed forwards through the smoke that had covered the area and attacked the merged hollow. He managed to land on its left shoulder, near its second head. He brought his zanpakuto down in diagonal slice, cutting through the head. The remaining head screamed in pain, releasing a monstrous howl that made Harasaki shiver.

To his surprise, the merged Menos did not dissipate. Instead, the remaining head snapped to the side and tried to swallow him. Harasaki however, snapped back to attention and shunpo-ed away, over the head, landing on the right shoulder. He raised his arm and pointed his hand towards the last head. "Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" The familiar large blue bolt of lightning emerged from his stretched hand, shooting forward and hit the Menos' head. The explosion that followed blew away the head and the merged hollow disappeared in black particles.

Harasaki had no time to rest however, as a cero was fired. He noticed just in time and managed to shunpo away. He landed on another tree branch.

' _The merged Menos was easier to kill than I had initially thought._ ' Harasaki mused. ' _Destroying one head however, was not enough_ ' He directed his gaze towards the remaining three Menos. This battle was already decided. He could easily take the last three Menos down.

' _That is, if they don't merge too._ ' He narrowed his eyes. ' _Although, they have not shown any signs of merging whatsoever. Was it just an ability reserved for that Menos? Or is it something unlocked through evolution?_ ' He wondered. The things he had seen these Menos do today, were astounding.

He chuckled for a minute. ' _If Captain-Urahara was here, he would lose his mind._ ' He thought amused. He then got back into his serious mode. ' _Still, I wonder what caused this. This has never been seen before._ '

He slowly rose from his crouched position on the tree branch. The Menos were closing in. his mind thought rapidly, trying to figure out a strategy. ' _Although they are just Menos, underestimating them would be most unwise._ ' He kept his gaze on the Menos. Using his shikai's ability, the poison it held, would be useless against the large bodies of the hollows. The poison was highly concentrated and was most effective against small sized opponents. It would only cause a slight tingling sensation for the Menos.

The best way to fight this battle would be to use the ' _hit and run_ ' tactic. Disorientate and distract them with kido and finish them off with a zanpakuto attack. Harasaki quickly scoured the battlefield. The trees on his right were mostly destroyed from the many cero's and were now out of reach.

The trees on his left all didn't have any branches for him to land on in case he needed to escape. That left one option. Go straight through the middle. He would need to use kido to block any potential cero's and slice right through them in one go. He could do that. Although that still left the possibility of them merging. 'Unlikely' He thought.

He got in a ready stance. Sword arm stretched, so that his zanpakuto was in a slight diagonal position in front of him, and the other arm bend, so that his hand was in front of his face. He waited for the Menos to get closer.

"Now!" He yelled, and took off. He shot from the tree branch at an amazing speed. The branch cracking from the force used. He out stretched his arm and pointed towards the first Menos. "Hado #31, Shakkahō!" The red blast hit the Menos in the face. It staggered backwards, bumping into the Menos behind him. Harasaki shot towards them and thrusted his zanpakuto forward, piercing the staggered Menos and killing it. As the hollow dissipated and disappeared, he kept his zanpakuto in the pierced position. As the black particles were gone and revealed the next Menos, he charged a hado through his sword, so that it amassed at its tip.

"Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" The blue bolt shot from his sword tip and travelled towards the still slightly dazed hollow. It exploded on impact and ignited the Menos' face in flames and killed it.

There was now only one Menos left. For a moment, both parties stared at eachother. The hollow was unmoving, and so was Harasaki. Neither moved a muscle, or prepared for an attack. They were both standing completely still. Harasaki could hear a breeze flowing through the rock tree forest. It made his brown hair swirl slightly.

The hollow slowly started to open his mouth. Harasaki saw it happen and immediately figured that a cero was being charged. But the speed at which the Menos did it didn't make any sense. He narrowed his eyes. The cero was growing in size slowly.

Almost in a lazy fashion, Harasaki raised his arm towards the Menos and pointed his index and middle finger at it. "Hado #31, Shakkahō." He mumbled, slightly wary of the Menos. The two red beams collided right in front of the Menos' face. The explosion lit the sky in a red light. A dust cloud settled, covering Harasaki's sight in a grey, ash-like colour.

He could no longer sense the Menos, the blast had killed it. Harasaki waited for the dust cloud to disappear. His mind wandered over the actions of the last Menos. ' _What the hell was it doing?_ ' He asked himself. ' _It just stood there, almost as if it was waiting for me to kill it. What the hell?_ ' He looked at the dissipating dust cloud. It was almost gone and he could start to see through it. The Menos was gone, dead. ' _Had it given up? Did it realise it was over and waited for the killing blow?_ ' Harasaki mused. His eyes were a little downcast.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the previous battle. ' _I need to regroup with the others._ ' He undid his shikai and sheathed his zanpakuto. The burn wound on his left arm was stinging. He gritted his teeth as he put his hand over it and started to apply a little healing kido. ' _Damn, that really hurts. That's what you get for not paying attention._ ' Harasaki berated himself.

He was barely done with the healing kido, before he was alerted by a spike of reiatsu. He snapped his head towards the direction it came from, his eyes widened in concern. "Izaho?" He gasped as he felt the flare disappear and he dashed towards it. ' _That was definitely Izaho's reiatsu. What's going on?_ ' He shunpo-ed past trees and branches, closing in on where he sensed the flare coming from. He could feel two other reiatsu signatures near the location. One he couldn't identify and the other seemed like it belonged to Lin.

A scream pierced the air, startling Harasaki. "IZAHO!" Harasaki's eyes widened in shock at the sight before him. "Oh no…"

.o0x0o.

"Hunt the prey, Shirojanin!" The situation had deteriorated right from the beginning. Lin Rinjin stood against four Menos. His shikai was already activated, the weapon now twirling around in his hand. The two blades that protruded from the with black thread encased spear shaft, shone with a dangerous glint. The blades were about as long as a hunting knife and stuck out the bottom and top of the handle, each bending slightly at the ends. Both blades were about two and a half inches wide. The weapon was just an inch taller than he was.

Lin kept twirling his zanpakuto in his hand, giving the approaching Menos a calculative glare. He had no idea how to win this battle. He was a seventh seat. He was not strong enough to take on four Menos at the same time. Sure, others had more opponents, hell Harasaki had eight! But they were all considerably stronger than he was. His reiatsu was meagre and weak. Although others told him that he was strong enough, that he had otherwise never could've attained a seated position. But Lin knew better, an officer's position is worthless if the battle prowess is a miserable as his.

But he was a prided member of the Gotei 13. He would not despair and forsake his comrades in the midst of battle. His pride would not allow him. Also he had his reputation as a total badass to uphold. So he steeled his nerves, readied his weapon, clear to strike at any time, and waited. He waited for an opening. One he did not receive.

He narrowed his eyes, watching carefully how the Menos moved. He gritted his teeth, the Menos were advancing in a tight formation. Two up front and one slightly behind on the sides. The only way he could get a hit in, would be to attack from behind, meaning he would have to out manoeuvre them. Should be simple enough. Although he wasn't the strongest in the division, he was one of the quickest, only behind Captain-Hyoto and Lieutenant Harasaki.

He crouched slightly, ready to jump. He counted the steps the Menos took to get forward. One, two, three… They were a couple of dozen yards away now. Surprisingly, they hadn't used any cero's. He heard many of them go off in the distance.

He jumped to his right, right past the Menos that was flanking the two in the middle. He smirked. His zanpakuto was a spear-type, but unlike most others he could conduct kido through his zanpakuto. Not only did this give him a longer reach and better accuracy, it also increased the power of the kido. So that was exactly what he did. "Hado 31, Shakkahō." He muttered. The back blade of his zanpakuto started glowing a fiery red.

He moved around so that he was now facing the neck of the Menos. The creature noticed that he was behind it, and started to turn around. Lin shunpo-ed accordingly with the Menos' movement and stayed behind it. He swiped his zanpakuto across the back of its head, leaving a wide gash. The Menos screamed in pain, but Lin was not done yet. He twirled his zanpakuto around so that the red glowing blade was now in the front, and jabbed it in the wound of his previous attack. With a yell he released the kido he had stored in the blade, a red beam of energy shooting through the Menos' head.

He immediately turned around to face the incoming cero that had been fired by another Menos. He pointed his zanpakuto forward and screamed, "Hado #33, Sōkatsui!" The blue lightning bolt collided with the cero and exploded in a shower of red and blue.

Lin shunpo-ed to safety after he sensed the other Menos surrounding him. ' _Damn, they are more clever than I had anticipated._ ' He thought after landing on a tree branch. ' _A lot faster too._ ' His eyes gazed upon his enemies. He had managed to take down one Menos. He then grunted in pain, as he noticed that his right leg was slightly burned.

' _Crap, I was closer to that explosion than I thought I was. I didn't even noticed I got wounded._ ' He gritted his teeth. His leg was only burned around his shin and foot, and it hurt like hell to move. ' _That gives me a handicap._ ' Lin thought in frustration.

He dodged an incoming cero and retaliated with Shakkahō when he was safely away, the red bolt exploding in the Menos' face, without dealing much damage. Lin cursed under his breath. His kido was not powerful enough to kill the Menos, and he did not have time to chant an incantation. His movements were restricted due to his burn wound, and if he wanted to apply some medical kido he would have to find a place to do it in peace, a place he could not find at the moment.

' _Shit, this is not looking good. The only option I have left is running away!_ ' He thought angrily. He snarled, "No way! I'm not gonna run from you!" He screamed at the approaching Menos. "Hado #31, Shakkahō!" He yelled. The blade that was in front now, started glowing a bright red, signalling it had been charged by the hado. He twirled the zanpakuto around, so that the blade that wasn't glowing now faced the front. "Hado #33, Sōkatsui!" The unlit blade now started glowing blue.

He charged forward with a loud battle cry, swinging his weapon in a wide arc while releasing the hado. He twirled it around and did the same with the other blade, producing two separate waves of energy that crashed into the face of the first Menos he encountered. It stumbled back slightly from the blow. But Lin was not done yet. He raised his weapon in a horizontal position in front of him, facing the stumbling Menos. "Hado #32, Ōkasen!" A yellow orb started to form in front of the weapon, slowly spreading along the length of it. He thrusted the weapon forward when the yellow orb had spread the entire length of the weapon. A yellow arc of energy formed and shot forward, slicing right through the head of the Menos.

It let out a shiver inducing howl of pain, before dissolving in black particles. Lin was panting, his foot was straining him. He gritted his teeth in agony. He had little time to rest however, as a large white hand, belonging to one of the two remaining Menos, came into vision and smacked him away. The force behind the hit was so large, that Lin smashed through one tree and crashed into the second, leaving a large crater.

He shakily got out if it and positioned himself on a tree branch. He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. His vision was blurry and he started to cough up blood.

' _Damn, my ribs are probably broken. Shit, this hurts like hell!_ ' He drew ragged breaths, his arm was clasped tightly around his chest. He tried to stand up, but his knees were shaking and he nearly collapsed from the pain.

"Damnit!" He cursed. He looked up towards the Menos. The hit had blown him a good distance away. The tree which he had pierced collapsed and broke down, crashing hard into the ground. He eyed the Menos. With as much as his vision allowed him to see, he could make out two dark shapes.

His vision started to clear, giving him a better grasp of his surroundings. He could now see the two Menos much clearer. The white masks and long, black cloaks. He glared at them as if they were the sole reason for every bad thing that has ever happened to him.

' _Damn Menos, I fucking hate them!_ ' He screamed out in his mind. His legs were still shaking from the blow. It nearly made him fell off the branch. The pain from his ribs didn't help either. He coughed up a little more blood.

' _I can't fight like this! Not in this state!_ ' He grunted. This might very well be his final battle. The Menos were still standing there, looking at him as if he was their prey, and they had trapped him in a corner. He smirked. ' _If this is the end…'_ He started in his mind. He looked up to the Menos, eyes full of determination. "then I better make sure I go out with a bang." He muttered with a slight insane grin. "You hear that, you goddamn broomsticks, I'm taking you with me!" He roared.

This seemed to bring the hollows back into movement, as each started to charge a cero. He gave a slight chuckle, as he too had started to charge an attack. Softly, he began to chant the incantation for a hado.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man!" The red orbs of the cero's were increasing in size. The Menos were preparing for a powerful attack. Lin pointed his zanpakuto towards them, the tip of the forward blade glowing an increasingly bright blue. "On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens!" The cero's were about to be fired. That particular portion of the Forest of Menos started to glow in an eerie red and blue.

"Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" He roared, a twin blue bolt of lightning shooting from the blade's tip. The cero's were fired, each screeching into existence and collided with the hado. A powerful explosion originated from the collision, blowing Lin of the tree branch. Dust was blown into the air, shrouding Lin and the Menos in a light brown cloud and obscuring their vision.

Lin got up with a groan. His ribs were aching as if someone was slamming a sledgehammer onto it. He was able to stand upon his feet, but nearly doubled over in agony. Although it did seem like the shockwave set a few ribs back into position.

"Kami, that hurt like hell!" He grunted. It was awfully quiet. He couldn't hear the Menos anymore. He knew they weren't dead, since he could still feel their presence. But they were unmoving. He awaited the settling dust cloud with anticipation and wariness.

Finally, when the dust started to dissipate, he could make out two figures. He squinted his eyes and subconsciously took a step back, the movement quickly ending in him falling to his knees in pain, having completely forgotten about his leg injury. He started to pant, exhaustion caught up with him. Sweat started to form on his forehead, his injuries were taking a lot out of him.

He glanced up at the Menos and his eyes widened in shock. The dust cloud had settled, revealing an almost entirely blown up Menos. The entire left side of his upper torso was completely blown away, they remnant of its Hollow hole barely visible. The bottom left side of its face was missing, as well as its left eye. How it had survived, Lin had no idea. The other Menos appeared mostly fine. Lin could only stare at it in bewildered way. ' _Did it hide behind the other Menos? Or did the other guard it?_ ' He questioned himself.

Then, something even crazier happened. Two long, black arms appeared out of the unharmed Menos' sides and slowly started to wrap around the damaged Hollow. The arms started pulling it closer to it.

Lin could only watch in shock and horror, as the unharmed Menos seemed to be trying to pull its comrade into himself. Lin's shock only grew greater as the damaged Menos slowly sank into the other. They were combining. Lin's jaw fell agape slightly, the pain from his injuries were forgotten.

Whatever that combining of bodies would result in, would surely be a negative impact on the outcome of this battle, as Lin could sense a sudden rise in the reiatsu level of the unharmed Menos. ' _More like skyrocketed. It's reiatsu doubled!_ ' Lin thought in astonishment.

Soon the damaged hollow had completely merged with the unharmed Menos, leaving no trace behind. Lin could only watch with wide eyes. The last remaining Menos slowly let it's gaze fall upon Lin. It's body started to change shape, a white substance started to spill from within its Hollow hole. It spread out over the Menos chest before hardening, creating a white bone-like chest plate. Armor also started to form on its sides, just above the hips and curved up to end just below its Hollow hole. Spikes jutted out of its head in a half-circle formation, going from ear to ear, or at least, where ears should be.

Lin couldn't help but think of it as badass. The extra spikes and armor gave it a much more thuggish and vicious look. What now stood before him was no longer a Menos, but an armored titan.

It released a massive hollow scream that resonated throughout the forest. Lin covered his ears as the scream nearly punctured his eardrums. The roar lasted for a good two minutes. Lin cursed heavily. "Holy mother of-! Kami, that was loud!" His ears were ringing and a little blood drippled down. Lin almost doubled over in pain, as a massive headache suddenly surfaced. It left him dizzy and wobbling on his feet. His hands clutched his head as his body shook and trembled.

' _What the hell, my body… I feel so numb. I can't… even see… my surroundings!_ ' The pain was almost too much. It left him disorientated and confused. The tree branch on which he stood was swirling left and right, up and down. He could not regain his balance and fell to the ground, a hundred feet below. He landed with a crash.

For a long, agonizing time, he could not stand up. He was lying in a foetal position, clutching his head as he was left shuddering from the intense pain. He could not form any coherent thoughts, nor could he recognize his surroundings.

The Menos was unmoving, standing still and gazing at the tortured Lin, almost as if he was watching in amusement. It was just silently observing him. The pain started to recede, although he still in a state of disorientation. His vision was bouncing, but he managed to stand up. He slowly got up in a hunched over position, barely able to keep standing. Slowly, but steadily his thoughts came back to him.

' _I see… that was a stun attack. The frequency and volume of the noise damaged my ears and thus also my balancing organs. Plus, the pain left me virtually paralyzed._ ' Lin deducted. He was still clutching his hands unto his head. His brain was throbbing against his skull. The loud pounding against the back of his eyes forced his to close them for a moment.

' _Well, it certainly was effective… that was the most painful experience I've ever had._ ' He opened his eyes again and looked towards the Menos, who was now stalking towards him. Lin could only watch. His body was still numb from the ' _torture_ ' he had just received.

' _Damn, my body won't respond._ ' Lin gritted his teeth as he tried to grab his zanpakuto, which he had dropped when the scream had effectively 'stunned'. The pain was still there, but started to fade away. He tried to move for the weapon again. His trembling arm barely moving an inch. He collapsed to his knees, the pain still too much to bare.

' _Crap, I can't do anything. This is it._ ' Lin thought as he watched the Menos come to a halt. It had taken his sweet time. Lin gave a small smile, as he dropped his arms to his sides while slowly sitting back on his legs. He gave a slight chuckle. ' _Tch, I'm so melodramatic._ '

The Menos opened his mouth, a red orb forming before it. The red light casted an ominous glow around them.

Lin looked around him. He could see the many craters from the cero's, although the others probably had more. A flash of blue light caught his attention, followed by a loud bang. He traced the reiatsu signature and identified it as Harasaki's. He laughed a bit, "Show off." He muttered silently. He forced his attention back to the Menos. The cero was now the size of the Menos' head.

' _At least I've lived a good life._ ' Lin thought. ' _At least, I gave everyone something to remem- ber me by._ ' Lin looked the Menos straight in the eye. All he could see was a dark hole. ' _Yeah… I'm ready.'_ He closed his eyes, waiting for the finishing blow.

Except it never came. Lin could hear a faint cry that sounded a little like Izaho and a loud crash, followed by an explosion. Lin snapped his eyes wide open and stared in shock at th Menos and the figure that now stood above it.

"Wha-wha… you…Izaho… what?" Lin managed to stutter. He could not believe his eyes. In front of him, stood sixth seat Izaho Kaseta with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Yo, Lin. How're you holding up?" He grinned. Lin could only stare with his mouth open. He shook his head and looked Izaho straight in the eye.

"Did you just crash into that Menos' face?" Lin asked astonished. Izaho chuckled.

"Sure did! Hit 'em right in the kisser, BAM!" He exclaimed, swinging his fist against the palm of his hand for emphasis.

Lin was about to respond, before he was interrupted by a massive white fist that swatted Izaho aside. He shot away and crashed against a tree, before falling down unto the rocky ground. Lin wasted no time and shunpo-ed towards him. When he got there, Izaho was already getting up with a pained groan.

"Are you alright, Izaho?" Lin asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I've been hit harder than that." He muttered while climbing to his feet. "It's gonna take more than that to keep me down!" Izaho boasted

Lin rolled his eyes at him. "You really should be more careful and less worried about your ego." Lin said while smacking him up the head. He glanced over towards the Menos, which had now managed to stand up and was walking towards them. "Especially against this one. He underwent some sort of transformation and gained more armor. He's a lot harder to wound now."

Izaho gained a professional look in his eyes and observed the Menos. "Now that you mention it, he does look a lot different." He thought aloud.

Lin resisted the urge to facepalm. "You noticed that now?"

"Hey, I came in flying at great speeds! I did not have time to take in my surroundings!"

"So it was unintentional to hit it in the face." Lin stated

Izaho spluttered and blushed a little from embarrassment. "Sh-shut up! Be thankful I saved your ass! Without my awesome entrance you would be a smoking pile of ash right about now!" Izaho snapped.

"Yeah well- Look out!" Lin shouted. Izaho turned his head towards the Menos and saw what Lin meant. They both jumped out of the way, just in time as a substantially larger cero was fired and exploded where they stood just moments ago. The resulting blast wave and dust forced them to cover their eyes.

Once the dust settled they opened their eyes again and looked at their previous location, which now had a rather large hole in the ground.

"Holy crap! That was a powerful cero." Izaho muttered impressed. Lin steadied his weapon in his hands. "See? Something happened to it and it got more powerful than it already was." Lin stated. He got in a crouched position, ready to jump up. "Now that we're with two people, one can distract it while the other gets a fee shot at its back. I'll distract it and you take it out. After that we'll regroup with the others." Lin ordered.

"Uhm… yeah, good plan and all, but…" Izaho began with a nervous voice.

Lin narrowed his eyes at him. "What, something you don't like?"

"Nah, it's a good plan… the thing is…" Izaho gave a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of his head. "…I, ah… I'm not sure if we'll get a free shot."

Lin squinted his eyes even further. "And why is that?" He questioned.

"Well, you see… I wasn't exactly… finished, with my opponents." Lin had pinched the bridge of his nose, already hearing the heavy thumps of foot steps behind him. "And because you were launched in my direction you led them straight to us." Lin finished for him. Izaho simply gave a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry?"

Lin turned around and watched their approaching enemies. He counted three of them. Lin sighed. "At least it's not all of them. Three more shouldn't be a problem." This actually seemed to surprise Izaho, since he snapped out of his sheepish behaviour and also looked back. "Three? I was pretty sure there were only two left."

Now it was Lin's turn to be surprised. "Well, either your eyes are failing or mine, because there's definitely three Menos approaching." Lin said with a slight mocking tone.

Izaho just continued to look sceptically. "No, I'm sure. I had five Menos follow me and I killed three of them." He stated, his voice holding nothing but truth.

"Well apparently you miscounted. If that ain't three Menos Grande walking towards us, then I'm Old-Man Yamamoto." Lin said agitated. Izaho's mistake could now potentially cost them their lives. Not that he would let it come to that.

Izaho just continued to stare at the Hollows that were closing in. He couldn't figure out for the life of him, why there were three Menos. He absolutely had killed three of them, meaning that out of the original five he had engaged, there should only be two remaining. He just didn't understand.

"Snap out of your daydreaming, dammit! They're closing in!" Lin's words brought Izaho out of his deep thinking. He saw that the four Menos were now almost on their position. They both shunpo-ed a good distance away from them, landing on an unscathed tree branch.

While they were flashing away, Izaho had a clear shot of one of the Menos' faces. There was a large crack on the right side of the white mask. Izaho's eyes widened in realization.

' _That crack matches the wound I dealt to one of the Menos! Could it be…?_ ' Izaho had a good guess on what probably has happened, especially if he took in consideration what Lin had told him minutes before. ' _Something happened to it and it got more powerful than it already was._ ' He repeated Lin's words inside his head, before turning towards Lin.

"Lin! I think I know what happened!" He exclaimed. Lin turned to look at him with a questioning gaze. But before Izaho could explain, Lin had shoved them off the tree branch towards the ground, just as a cero exploded over head.

"Damn, they don't let up, do they?" Lin said. He quickly focused his attention back to Izaho. "So? What was it?"

Lin just grunted and rubbed his butt. The fall caused him to make a nasty fall and land where the moon don't shine. He looked at Lin. "Earlier you said that the Menos you were fighting underwent some sort of transformation right?" Izaho asked. Lin nodded in confirmation, beginning to understand where he was heading.

"And you said it got stronger, right?" Again Lin nodded. To which Izaho continued. "So, I think that the reason there are three Hollows instead of two, is because one of them may have gained a transformation." Izaho explained. Lin nodded, but then became a little confused.

"But what sort of ability could they have gained? You killed it, but it came back…" Lin started out before ending in a soft voice. His face contorted in a look that showed he was thinking. Suddenly, he gasped. "He was resurrected after you killed him!" Lin shouted almost a little fearfully.

Izaho merely shook his head. "No, it is not that. I don't think I killed it in the first place. It is most probably-"

"Instant regeneration." Lin finished for Izaho, to which Izaho nodded in confirmation.

"So unless we one-shot it, it will just keep coming back." Lin stated grimly. "And with a practical 'tank' with it. Let's just say it's gonna get really hard." Izaho commented. Lin gained a strategic look on his face.

"We should take out the two normal ones first, that way we can focus on the mutated ones." Lin said, more to himself than any other. "Izaho, can you take care of those? I'll distract the tank and the regenerator." Izaho chuckled at the nicknames Lin gave the transformed Hollows.

"That won't be necessary, Lin. I've recovered enough reiatsu to do, this!" Izaho swung his zanpakuto in front of him, holding it vertically. "Fire away, Akazimato!" Izaho shouted. His zanpakuto glowed and transformed into two separate weapons. They both had a handle that connected the blades on both ends. The blade part curled around the handle, forming a half moon-like circle round the handle.

They were identical to eachother, the only difference between them being that one blade sprouted seven, very sharp, needles. They were about six inched long and an inch wide.

The other blade also sprouted needles, the same length and width, except this one only had three and the needles were slightly curved, giving almost a boomerang look.

Izaho's eyes flooded with determination. "I will kill them in an instant." He declared proudly, pointing his weapons towards his assigned targets.

Lin was surprised. He had never really seen Izaho's sword release. In all the years they have spent in the 6th division, Izaho had never really used his zanpakuto's abilities.

"Flaming Arrow Shot!" Izaho screamed at the top of his lungs. The seven spikes that were on his left handed blade, were launched from it and shot towards one of the two Menos, a small trail of fire and smoke following them. They impacted in the Menos' face and impaled it so that they clung to it. Then, half a second later, they exploded, completely blowing away the head of the Menos.

Izaho turned his attention towards the remaining Menos, eyeing it with a cocky smirk. He raised his right handed weapon in a position that signalled a horizontal strike. He tensed his body, preparing to swing the weapon.

"Curling Spike Slinger!" He once again shouted with force. He swung his weapon in a horizontal arc, meanwhile releasing the curled boomerang spikes from their hold on the blade, shooting them forward. The spikes started to twirl at a high speed, creating little circles of fire that soared through the air.

Lin noticed that the trajectory of the projectiles was curved, and aimed at the head of the Menos. The twirling spikes cut through the left side of its neck, all the way through to the other side, before curving back towards Izaho, who caught them with his weapon. The head of the Menos fell to the ground, dissolving just before it made it all the way down.

Izaho was out of breath, the attack took more reiatsu out of him than he predicted. He slouched over slightly, leaning upon his weapons.

"You okay, Izaho?" Lin asked, worry lacing his voice. If Izaho gave out, he would have to fight the two mutated Hollows on his own. And that was something he couldn't do.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to… catch my… breath." He panted out. He had spent a lot of reiatsu, both in his previous fight and the attack he had used just now. _'Damn, I'm running low. I need to proportionate my reiatsu expenditure._ '

"Well anyway, get ready. Those two Menos are about to fire an attack." Lin warned. Izaho noted that Lin's words were correct. The two Hollows now stood right next to eachother, the red orbs of cero's already forming. Except, there was something off about the cero. Instead of the typical red colour the Gillian class Hollows possessed, this one was a startling deep purple.

Izaho's and Lin's eyes widened at the sight. "Wha… What the hell!? What the fuck is that!?" Izaho exclaimed, slight fear lacing his voice. These Hollows were already stronger than what was considered the norm. And now with this attack, their strength seemed to be increasing by the minute.

"I-I don't know. From the feeling I'm getting it seems like… incredibly dense reiatsu. But… that is unnatural." The purple orb started to grow in size. It appeared in between the two Menos and now started to cover midway into their bodies.

The only sign they got that could possibly signal them of the release, was a bright purple flash that almost blinded them. Izaho reacted just in time to yell an almost indistinguishable "Dash!" that prompted Lin into action. They both managed to shunpo away in time. But the following explosion flung them away. Black smoke covered a twenty feet wide crater. The resulting shockwave that had flung Izaho and Lin, destroyed the surrounding rock trees and shattered the immediate area. Cracks the size of a person covered the ground around the still smoking crater.

Izaho and Lin picked themselves up, both slightly scorched. Dust and ash covered their clothes and limbs. Burn marks littered their arms. The intense heat from the cero drenched their forehead and neck in sweat. They were both shocked at the destruction caused by the deadly purple cero.

"Holy shit…" Was the only thing Izaho could force out of his mouth, his mind in overload to comprehend what had just occurred. Lin could only nod his head. "Holy shit indeed."

"How are we supposed to defeat those things? They are stronger than any Gillian I have ever fought before!" Izaho exclaimed. He was starting to panic. These things had a reiatsu level close to or equal to that of Lieutenant Harasaki.

"Get your act together, dammit! Panicking isn't gonna help us." Lin managed to maintain his cool. He was always the most level-headed one in these kinds of situations. But even he was not immune to the fear these two Hollows were inducing. Izaho didn't notice, but Lin's arms were slightly trembling.

"But, Lin-!"

"Shut it! It doesn't matter how strong those two are! Everybody, everything has a weakness. You have one, I have one, that means that those Hollows have one two. We just got to find it." Izaho straightened up, his composure returning. He nodded his head, causing Lin to smirk. "Besides, the bigger and stronger they are, the harder they fall, right?"

Lin looked at Izaho through the corner of his eyes. He saw the small smile that now adorned Izaho's face. ' _Alright, now that he's back again, time to strategize._ ' His expression turned to one of extreme concentration, taking in every detail of the scene. The Hollows standing still next to eachother, their reiatsu levels. They weren't moving.

' _So that means that an attack like that one uses up quite a bit of reiatsu. It also robs them of their ability to move, since they are remaining still._ ' Lin deducted that quite easily. Lin's eyes narrowed and he could feel Izaho tense up, he felt it too. "Lin, their reiatsu… It's rejuvenating." Izaho muttered. Lin nodded. "Yeah, I feel it to. They're getting it back."

' _That means that they can pull of another cero like that again._ ' Lin started to form a basic idea. ' _We can use their immobility to our advantage. They created an opening for us by revealing their attack._ ' Lin nodded to himself. This was how they were going to do it.

"Izaho, I got a plan." He spoke to his companion.

Izaho looked at him. "Well, let's hear it."

"We missed our shot this time, not using their lack of movement to our advantage. Meaning we have to make them use that purple cero again." Izaho nodded, indicating that he was still following.

"Once they have used that cero again and we have successfully evaded it, we're going to have to combine our attacks and strike at the back of their heads. Those spots guarantee an instant kill." Izaho narrowed his eyes a bit. "Wait… How do we know if they're gonna use that cero?" He asked. Lin shrugged. "Let's hope for it."

Izaho released a sigh, before glaring at Lin. "If I get blown up, it's your fault." He snapped. The current situation hadn't left him in a particular good mood. And he also had this pit feeling in his stomach. Almost as he was standing at the edge of the world and ready to jump off. He had a nasty feeling about this.

Lin was focused on the Menos, eyeing their every motion, if they made any. They seemed to slowly get their reiatsu back at the previous level. He nudged Izaho. "Prepare, they're gonna attack soon."

Izaho readied his zanpakuto's, holding them in front of his body. Lin also raised his spear-like zanpakuto, the blades already crackling with blue lightning from the hado he had prepared. They looked at eachother and nodded, they were ready.

The Menos steadily came out of their daze, their ability to move returning. Lin and Izaho felt the spikes of reiatsu coming from them. They started to walk forward, their empty gazes fixated on the two Shinigami. They were getting closer, walking at a steady pace, before they stopped. Lin and Izaho immediately recognised the familiar purple orb that nearly blew them to smithereens just minutes ago.

' _Wow… didn't actually think they were going to use it again._ ' Lin thought dryly. The humour didn't fit the situation, but he couldn't help it. He was tense, sweat pouring down his neck and drenching his Shinigami garb. Izaho was feeling very much the same. They had to time it perfectly.

Lin looked at Izaho. "Remember, we need to combine our attacks. You make the first cut, and I'll push through it with Shirojanin. If we do this right, we'll separate their heads from their necks." Izaho nodded. "Roger that."

They orb was now about as large as the previous one. The purple light shining through the forest. The ominous light only grew brighter and brighter. The orb kept growing and growing, before it launched. The bright purple beam shooting towards Lin and Izaho, who avoided the large explosion by flash stepping away to the right. They shunpo-ed away just far enough for the shockwave to have almost no effect on them.

They were now standing forty feet away from the Menos, who were, just like Lin's prediction, immobilized.

"Now, Izaho!" Lin shouted.

"Okay!" Izaho responded. "Let's go, you white faced turds!" He yelled, before jumping forward, blades ready to slash at their necks. Lin was right behind him, zanpakuto crackling with blue lightning.

' _I really hope it will be enough._ ' Lin thought worriedly. ' _After all, neither Izaho or me, have any idea just how tough that armored Hollow is._ '

The Hollows were immobilized, they couldn't even turn their heads. Lin however, never stopped watching them. Even as Izaho made to slash at their heads. ' _It could just be faking it, pretending to be immobilized._ ' Lin thought as he drew back his arm, preparing to stab his hado enhanced zanpakuto through the wound Izaho would inflict.

"Take this!" Izaho exclaimed at the top of his lungs. He slashed both of his weapons at the nape of the armored Hollow's neck. The weapons pierced through the white armor and cut into flesh. With the force behind the blow, the Menos stumbled forward. The wound wasn't deep. Lin narrowed his eyes, and with a fierce battle cry, he shoved his weapon into the wound. The hado was released once the blade tip was completely inside, resulting in a bright blue explosion that completely obliterated the Hollow's head.

Lin was relieved. The armored titan stood no chance against an internal attack. He looked around for Izaho, whom had already finished off the other Menos. He had simply slashed away at its head until it dissolved.

They both landed on their feet on the ground, wiping the sweat of their brows. Lin undid his shikai and walked towards Izaho. "Are you alright?"

"Heh, that was nothing. A little armor isn't gonna stop me." Izaho too, undid his shikai. "And no matter how fast you regenerate, if ya' head's off, yer' dead!" Izaho was boasting a little, but Lin let it slide. They both just took down nine Menos.

"But man, that fight drained a lot of my reiatsu." Izaho stated, while stretching his arms. "You think the others are already done?" He asked.

"Captain Hyoto must be done already, there's no way he would lose against an Adjuchas. For the others however, I don't know. I can't sense anything coming from them." Lin's eyes narrowed. He couldn't sense anything other than Izaho's reiatsu signature, not even Captain Hyoto's. _'What the hell?'_

"Hey Lin? I'm not sensing anything at the moment. Just you." Izaho said, worry lacing his voice.

"Yeah, me neither." Lin responded. Something was off. There shouldn't be any reason for him not to sense the others' reiatsu. Unless…

' _No! That is impossible. I'm a fool for even considering that._ ' Lin scolded himself. There's no way that they all could've died. ' _Captain Hyoto could never die, not from these opponents._ '

But what then was causing this, what could possibly be stripping him of the ability to sense their reiatsu. Both Shinigami readied their weapons once again.

"Izaho, be careful. Something is watching us. We're not quite done yet." Lin warned. "Beware of any signs that could give away an attack." Lin said, right before a tremor shook the ground. It began as a soft vibration, before growing into an almost full size earthquake.

"You mean like that!?" Izaho yelled over the noise of the earthquake. Lin and Izaho nearly fell over from the quaking.

Lin frantically looked around for what was causing it. He noticed the trees weren't shaking whatsoever. ' _So that means that the earthquake is restricted to our area.'_

Lin's eyes widened in shock. "Izaho, get away! It's coming from beneath us!" Izaho looked at Lin is realization and they both shunpo-ed away, just in time to see the ground erupt below them.

A gigantic creature emerged from the shaking ground. Debris flew everywhere, covering the immediate area with rocks and boulders. A large hole now filled the spot where Lin and Izaho just stood.

Lin was paralyzed. He couldn't move, not because of some poison or technique, but from fear. He was afraid of the massive monster that now stood before him. It was huge, as tall as the trees, if not larger. The reiatsu it was emitting was terrifying, it was above captain level.

"What… what the hell is that…?" Lin heard Izaho mutter. Lin's knees were shaking, some debris had hit his shoulder and had dislocated it, his left arm was now useless.

The figure was squirming, it's hundreds of legs all moving, before it came crashing down. The figure that stood as tall as the trees, fell forward landing on his feet. Wind blew everything away as it landed, dust and rocks once again flew in the air. Lin could only stare in absolute disbelief and fear. "A… a centipede?"

The Hollow had hundreds, no thousands of appendages, al planted firmly in the ground. It's massive shell body was as thick as the rock trees, the armored plating without a doubt as hard as steel. It stood at least a hundred feet tall, a third of the height of the trees. The shells overlapped eachother, creating an almost impenetrable shield. The Hollow's mask appeared, as the creature turned on its many legs and faced the Shinigami. It's mask wasn't white, it was ash-grey, and had two large crescent shaped tusks that curved out of the corners of its mouth, before barely meeting eachother in front of its face. Two eye-sockets gazed at Lin. Pale yellow eyes that were glowering at them. It released a humongous Hollow scream, forcing Lin and Izaho to cover their ears from its intensity.

"What the fuck… What the fuck! What the fuck IS THAT THING!" Izaho screamed, fear was the only emotion he felt. The pressure of its reiatsu, its appearance, the scream, it was all too much for him. He was shaking, trembling. His feet wouldn't move, his body wouldn't react. He couldn't run.

The creature made its move. Lin couldn't react as the Hollow shot forward, faster than he could have ever imagined. The thousands of legs working in unison to propel the Hollow forward. Lin was frozen. It hadn't aimed at him. It shot past him, knocking him out of the way. He could hear a loud crashing sound as the Hollow came to a crashing stop. And once he looked at it, he felt empty.

"No… No… Why…" Lin truly felt fear. His eyes widened as far as humanly possible, his pupils contracted in a tiny dot amongst the whites of his eyes. "No!" Lin screamed at the Hollow. But no matter what, his feet wouldn't move. He raised his arm in a grasping manner, desperately trying to clutch whatever was in front of him.

"No! Izaho!" Tears now streamed down his face. The lifeless body of Izaho Kaseta hung from the Hollow's tusks, the bottom half slowly falling to the ground. His expression was one of shock. The Hollow dropped his upper half too, and it joined his bottom half on the ground, blood pooling around.

Lin couldn't believe his eyes. One of his best friends in the Gotei 13 now lay dead at his feet, blood and organs surrounding him. His body finally started to move, as Lin crawled towards Izaho's remains. Short ragged breaths tore through him, sobs pained his chest. His hand landed on something squishy, he stopped in his tracks and looked at his hand. Blood stained it, Izaho's blood, but his mind wouldn't register.

A shadow now fell over Lin, ominous and dangerous. Lin looked up, shocked and tear filled eyes looked up at the thing that caused the shadow. His pain filled eyes looking up at the monster that slaughtered Izaho.

Another terrifying Hollow scream pierced the now silent air, bursting Lin's eardrums. But Lin didn't notice. Al that his mind could comprehend, was the monstrous figure before him. Lin looked up, staring at the ash-grey mask, he was staring at the face of Death.

 **So that's the first chapter. Probably some incontinuities … or however you spell it. English is my second language after all. Techniques are suckish right now because I hadn't found a good translator yet, they will be good in the next chapter.**

 **So what did you guys think? Good? Bad? Let me now.**

 **See you next time**

 **Darryl, The Son Of Perses**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's Chapter 2. It's a pretty long fight scene. When I finished it I hadn't realized it was this long. Anyway, there are some original techniques I created in here, translations can be found at the bottom of the chapter. For those who want to know, I'll only provide translations for techniques I created, those that come from canon you'll have to look up yourself. Why? Because I'm Lazy, that's why.**

 **I don't own bleach**

… **..**

Lin was in shock. Hyoto could see that much from his current position. He was perched on a branch in tree, about a hundred feet away from Lin and Izaho. At least, what was left of Izaho. And like Lin, he too was frozen in shock.

But Lin was shaking, close to having a nervous breakdown. His eyes were wide and pupils shaking. His arms and legs were trembling and tears streamed down his face. His breathing was shallow, he was hyperventilating. His breaths passing his lips in short, rapid bursts.

Hyoto wasn't in a much better state. He was livid, absolutely furious. Rage coursing through his veins. A subordinate- No, a comrade, died under his watch. A friend died under his command. He failed him, he failed Izaho.

He clenched his hands tighter, veins starting to form on his arms. His pupils started to glow an eerie purple colour. The blade on his hip began humming, eager for the blood of the creature that took Izaho's life.

Hyoto didn't notice the rest of his squad, who were perched behind him. Harasaki was looking at the scene in shock, Chisuru silent besides him while carrying the unconscious form of Gyura.

Hyoto didn't notice anything at the moment, only fixated on the monstrous hollow with a thousand legs. The monster that stole Izaho's life and was gazing at them with pale yellow eyes.

"Captain?" Harasaki carefully asked. He could clearly see the Captain's distress. He was worried about the fact that Hyoto seemed lost in his rage. If he got out of control they might pay for it with their lives.

"Captain Hyo-" Harasaki tried again, only to be silenced by an incredible surge in reiatsu. It forced both Chisuru and Harasaki to collapse to their knees, their breaths stolen from their lungs. They looked at Hyoto with fearful eyes. The air around him started to distort slightly.

Down below, at the Hollow's feet, Lin was startled out of his shock by the Captain's reiatsu. The force send him sprawling with his face on the ground. Lin struggled to look up, breathing became very hard. Now that he was out of his shock, he could clearly take in his situation.

' _I need to get Izaho away from here._ ' Tears were still streaming from his eyes. It became a little much for him again. The sight of Izaho's blood reminding him of his death. Lin shut his eyes. ' _Izaho._ '

Luckily for him, Hyoto's reiatsu surge had distracted the Hollow, enabling Lin to slowly crawl towards Izaho's corpse.

His movements didn't go unnoticed by his fellow squad mates. Harasaki had increased his own reiatsu output in order to not suffocate under the insane pressure of the Captain. He managed to stand up, legs still bent under the pressure. Chisuru, however, was still buckled under the weight of the reiatsu.

Harasaki struggled towards his Captain. "Captain Hyoto!" He yelled. Trying to get to him. So far it was not successful. He was still stuck in his rage.

"Captain! Lower your reiatsu!" He tried again. Legs wobbling as he got closer to the source of the immense pressure. He could see the Captain's face a lot clearer and was startled to see tears running over his cheek.

Harasaki took a deep breath, as far as that was possible. "Captain! Lower your reiatsu, or do you want to kill us all!" He cried out with all his might.

That seemed to work, as Hyoto snapped his head up, eyes wide. Almost immediately the pressure decreased, as the Captain returned from his rage induced comatose state.

Harasaki could hear Chisuru release a sigh of relieve behind him.

"I'm sorry, Harasaki. I lost it for a second." Hyoto muttered silently.

"No problem Captain, I'm glad you snapped out of it." Harasaki answered. He could still only watch the right side of the Captain's face, but he could see the tears had stopped. His eyes were still filled with anger.

Hyoto was still watching the scene, or more accurately, the Centipede Hollow. It's tusks clapping together randomly. It was still waiting for something. Or it was just watching, eyeing whatever new developments would take place. Hyoto gritted his teeth in seething anger. ' _It's enjoying this._ '

Only then did he notice the crawling figure of Lin trying to reach the remains of Izaho. It seemed that the Hollow had forgotten all about him.

"Harasaki, get down and take Lin. Get him away from Izaho. Take him and find someplace safe, somewhere far away from here." Hyoto ordered, in his commanding tone. The tone of someone you just had to listen to.

Harasaki was a little taken aback though. Captain Hyoto was going to fight the Hollow, that he knew. He had no doubt that Hyoto would totally demolish the creature. But Harasaki was still worried. For the voice of his Captain was laced with hate. Absolute hate. It was a voice he had never heard coming out of his Captain's mouth before. It scared him a little.

"Yes Captain, but what about-" Harasaki began, but Hyoto didn't let him finish.

"Take Lin and go, now!" Hyoto said, a little stronger now. It was clear he didn't have any patience for insubordination right now.

Harasaki took off immediately, using Flash Step to clear the distance between him and Lin in a matter of seconds.

When he reached Lin, he was almost in grasping distance of Izaho's lifeless body, or at least the upper half. Harasaki nearly emptied his stomach. The site was much more gruesome up close. Blood was everywhere. It pooled around Izaho like a pond in a garden. Some of his organs, that had fallen out of him, were lying around, decorating the ground in human waste.

A horrid smell lingered around the gruesome scene of Izaho's death. The air reeked of human flesh and blood. The smell made Harasaki gag and he had the urge to chop off his nose.

Not wanting to stay there for another second, he made a beeline for Lin and picked him up over his shoulder. Lin kicked and screamed at him to let him go, not wanting to abandon his best friend. Harasaki paid no attention to him, as he made his way towards the rest of the squad.

Once there, he nodded at Hyoto and quickly speeded away with Chisuru and Gyura, leaving the Captain alone to fight the beast.

The Hollow remained still the entire time, watching the scene unfold with its pale yellow eyes. It shifted it's gaze towards Hyoto, eyeing him for about a minute, before speaking.

"I was wondering when those little insects were going to leave." It said in a deep raspy voice, echoing through the vast, tree-filled plain. It's voice sounded layered, as if ten were speaking at the same time, some high and others low toned.

"So the monster speaks. I have to say, that's quite ironic, considering your form" Hyoto answered, lacing his voice with as much hatred he could manage.

The Hollow laughed. A deep bellowing sound that nearly forced Hyoto to cover his ears.

"Such hatred flows with your words, Shinigami!" The Hollow said, almost sounding delighted. "I take it you are their leader? Considering, your form?"

The Hollow almost seemed to grin as he repeated Hyoto's words. The Hollow was starting to piss Hyoto off with his attitude. He retorted, "You must not be very smart, Hollow," Hyoto spoke the word ' _Hollow_ ' with as much venom as he could manage. ",If you need to repeat my own words for a retort." The grin seemed to disappear at the mention of its intelligence.

However, the grin came back just as quick as it disappeared.

"Tell me, Shinigami. Did you watch when I snapped that petty creature in half?"

Hyoto's eyes snapped wide open, pupils dilating. His anger rose to a new level at the Hollow's words. His fists clenched tight once again and his reiatsu output increased.

"Silence, I'll kill you." Hyoto muttered dangerously.

The Hollow laughed again. "I can feel your anger! Your fury! Did I hit a nerve?" It asked in a mocking voice. "Then tell me, Shinigami. Did you watch when I splattered his guts on the ground!" It's voice was so infuriating. Hyoto couldn't take it anymore, he exploded.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed. He lunged for the Hollow, his sword swinging down from above his head, intending to cleave the Hollow's head in half.

But before it could connect. The Hollow brought up one of his extended claws and parried the blow. "Aw, so close, yet so ineffective." It said, before swinging the claw and swatting Hyoto away.

He quickly recovered however. He spun around in mid-air and used the reishi in the air to create a grip and slow his momentum. Once he was standing still he pointed his sword towards the centipede Hollow. "Hado #54, Haien!" He yelled.

His blade glowed purple and formed an orb the size of a soccer ball at its tip. The orb shot forward, leaving a trail of purple energy in its wake.

The Hollow responded almost immediately. It opened his tusks wide and a blood-red cero formed in between. The cero fired and collided with Hyoto's hado, creating an explosion that cracked the ground below. Fire coursed inside the smoke of the blast.

"You are strong, Shinigami. Your reiatsu is making me shiver with anticipation. And it's still increasing! This will be a grand battle!" It cackled in its multi-layered voice. "Tell me your name, so that I may remember this day."

Hyoto only glared at the Hollow with his most intimidating face possible. The Hollow chuckled.

"I see. Perhaps I shall give you my name too. I am Grande Crassher, the terror beneath the ground!" It proclaimed proudly.

Hyoto gritted his teeth. He did not want to give his name to the Hollow, but his sense of honor was forcing him now.

"Mikadame. Hyoto Mikadame. Captain of the 6th Division." He responded through tight lips. His jaw clenched in anger. The Hollow had played him, something that did not sit right with Hyoto.

"Now, was that so hard?" The Hollow cackled gleefully

"Shut your damn mouth already, you filthy scumbag!" Hyoto exclaimed. His patience was growing thinner and thinner with each word Grande Crassher spoke. "I don't want to hear another word coming from you!" He yelled, as he pointed his hand towards the centipede beast. "Hado #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!"

Blue fire shot from Hyoto's hand. The blue flames were much bigger than any of the others were capable of. The scorching heat more intense than many Captains could manage. The fire was fed with Hyoto's anger and hatred towards Grande Crassher.

The attack soared towards it, giving of ripples of immense pressure around it. The high-levelled kido combined with the great amount of Spiritual Pressure pumped into it by its caster, made this an incredibly powerful attack few could withstand.

Unfortunately, Grande Crassher was one of the few that could.

It stood up straighter, gaining several feet in height, so that the attack which was previously aimed at its head, was now directed at its torso. The Hollow then proceeded to cross many of his claw-like appendages around that area to cross over eachother, creating a shell-like shield.

The attack collided with the appendage formed shield and exploded in a bright, blue ball of flames. It's light left blind spots on Hyoto's eyes.

' _Did it work?_ ' Hyoto wondered if that attack actually did something. It was not necessarily the strongest kido he could cast. It was more of that if he went past #75 his kido would do more harm than good.

' _No way did that finish him off._ ' That would seem way to anti-climactic. And the impression the Hollow gave him was not one of a weak creature, it was definitely strong.

The smoke of the attack started to settle, although at an antagonizing slow pace. Hyoto watched, muscles tensed, ready to jump at any moment.

What he saw when the smoke settled, was not what he expected. He saw nothing. The Hollow had disappeared.

Hyoto looked around panicked, his head snapping around towards all possible directions.

' _Where the hell did it go!?_ ' He thought startled.

The Hollow was nowhere to be found. Not a sign from the gigantic creature. Nothing… except a 50-feet wide hole in the ground!

Hyoto's eyes widened. ' _Underground!_ '

He quickly shunpo-ed away and landed on a tree branch just as the tremors started and the Hollow shot up from the ground. It resurfaced where Hyoto had stood just seconds before.

Grande Crassher turned towards Hyoto with its pale yellow eyes.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you? I thought you'd be able to see that huge hole in the ground." It said mockingly. You could hear the glee in his voice.

Hyoto growled, not enjoying being made fun off. He glared darkly at the centipede Hollow, trying to kill it with his gaze. Seeing that that particular method wasn't working he chose the next best option.

"Hado #32, Ōkasen!" He yelled, his zanpakuto glowing a bright yellow. The blast that followed was not particularly powerful. It was, however, very fast.

The Hollow barely had any time to react, as the yellow, crescent shaped blast cut off one of his thousand limbs. It howled in pain from the loss of his claw. But that wasn't the main reason it hurt so much. There was a little trick to the kido used by Shinigami. It was toxic to Hollows. It would cause a burning pain that would last days if it didn't immediately kill it.

Hyoto smirked. "Not feeling so fond of teasing now, huh? That's what you get for mocking me."

Grande Crassher glared at him, his eyes full of hatred, much like his own.

"Don't think this is over, Shinigami! You have seen nothing yet!" It cried, whilst planting his many legs firmly in the ground. It's tusks opened wide, energy forming between them.

"CERO!" The Hollow shouted.

The cero was a deep, purple colour. That was a huge signal that this was a very dangerous opponent. More so than it already was.

Shock graces Hyoto's face, realization about who his opponent truly was, sinking in. He snapped out of it, in time to dodge the cero.

The purple beam was about twenty-five feet in diameter, making it profoundly larger than most cero's. The heat that radiated off of it was almost as intense as his Sōren Sōkatsui, if not equally.

It missed Hyoto, preventing him from being blown to bits. The trees behind, however, did not have the luxury of movement. The cero impacted somewhere in between the group of trees, before blowing them away in a fiery, purple explosion. The shockwave of which, flattened some more trees along it's way. It also blew a new hairline in Hyoto snow-white bangs.

Hyoto turned his gaze towards the Hollow, shock still the most apparent feature on his face. This certainly wasn't the sort of Hollow he thought it was.

Grande Crassher laughed darkly. "You see now, Captain Hyoto? I am not who you thought I was. Most definitely not!" It's voice sounded boastful.

"I could tell what you thought. I could almost see it as clearly as I can see your shock-filled face."

Hyoto didn't move. If Grande Crassher was going to say what he thought he was going to say, then things would go down very differently.

"Yes, it was clear as day!" The Hollow continued. "So apparent your thoughts were, it was child's play to see it!"

Hyoto was beginning to feel anticipation. Just _one thing_ could change this whole situation around.

Grande Crassher continued elatedly, as if it had discovered a deep, dark secret. "The reason you haven't shown me your true strength, and the same reason I haven't shown you mine." Grande Crassher seemed to smirk.

"So hopeful you were, that you could defeat me. I could read it. You were hoping to slay me without utilising your sword's abilities. But I proved too strong for that. My cero made you realise that. Although it wasn't nearly as strong as I'm capable off. All because you had that foolish thought."

Hyoto was sweating, his hands were clam. ' _Come on, give me a reason!_ '

"All because you, thought that I was an ADJUCHAS!" It finished, sounding almost triumphant.

Hyoto released a breath he didn't know he was holding. A small grin made its way onto his face. It made him look a bit psychotic, but the Hollow didn't seem to notice.

"You foolishly assumed I was one of those pesky little flies! Their strength is nothing compared to me. I would smack them all back into oblivion! But alas, they all flee once the sense me, that's how terrifying I am!" It boasted proudly.

The grin on Hyoto's face only grew wider, somehow the Hollow still hadn't noticed.

"I am NOT to be held in the same class as those petty Adjuchas!" Grande Crassher, as he called himself, shouted. He seemed to be greatly offended.

"No, I am not a puny Adjuchas." His eyes started to glow brighter, like lanterns on a dark night.

"No, I am not one of those. I AM A VASTO LORDE!" The centipede Hollow known as Grande Crassher bellowed. His voice echoed for miles, so great was the force behind it. His bellow actually generated a gust of wind that blew back Hyoto's hair.

Silence followed the beastly cry of the Hollow. It remained silent until Grande Crassher spoke again.

"Why are you grinning, Shinigami Captain? Why do you not cower in fear?"

Indeed, Hyoto was grinning like a madman. His grin slowly transforming in maniacal laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You are a Vasto Lorde!" The Captain exclaimed loudly, before continuing to laugh. "That makes this battle so much easier!"

This seemed to anger Grande Crassher. "This battle will NOT be EASY! NO ONE has ever defeated me! I will rip your body to shreds!" It screamed in rage.

Hyoto's behaviour made a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn. One moment he was laughing maniacally, the second he was glaring at Grande Crassher with such a dark expression, it made the Hollow back up a bit.

"No. This battle will be over in a few seconds. I will completely obliterate you." He said softly, although the silenced that ruled the area made it sound like he yelled it through a megaphone.

"Because, if you're a Vasto Lorde. I'm authorized to do this!" Hyoto exclaimed.

He thrust his zanpakuto forward and laid his left hand on the shoulder of his right arm. " _Cast the world into oblivion, Kiyohi Kaimetsu!_ " Reiatsu surged out of him, quantities that scared Grande Crassher. The Captain's Spiritual Pressure skyrocketed. The air around him distorted and a column of bright green reiatsu shot towards the sandy roof above them, slamming through it with a dull BOOM! Sand fell down, only to be forced to fly upwards again by the force of the Captain's reiatsu. Small rocks around him disintegrated into nothingness.

When the dense pillar of green reiatsu diminished, Grande Crassher could see that the Shinigami's attire had changed. When he first wore black Shinigami robes and a white Captain's haori, he now donned a black hakama pants, leaving his upper-body bare for all to see. On his right arm, black tattoo-like symbols were etched into his skin. The Japanese symbols for the numbers one, two, three, four and five, which were surrounded by intricate swirls that covered the rest of the arm.

And the shiny silver zanpakuto he held in his hand before, was the thing that changed the most.

It had duplicated, giving Hyoto two blades. The two swords were made of pure reishi. Two bright blue blades existing purely from Hyoto's power.

If a Hollow's mask could express emotions, fear would be on the mask of Grande Crassher. This Captain was a kind of enemy he had never faced before. His Reiatsu was terrifying. It was greater than any he had ever felt before. And yet, something told Grande Crassher that this was not all the Captain was capable off.

But at the same time Grande Crassher was exhilarated. This Captain was a force of nature. An opponent like none other. Like all Hollows, Grande Crassher respected strength, and this Captain, this monster of a Shinigami, was stronger than any Hollow he had ever met before.

' _Except him…_ ' Grande Crassher thought.

"Believe me now, Grande Crassher?" Hyoto asked. His voice was deeper now, almost multi-layered.

"I wasn't permitted to use this form, unless a threat reveals themselves. A threat that could endanger our mission." Hyoto said in that deep voice. "A threat like a Vasto Lorde."

"Strange." Grande Crassher growled. "I wouldn't think someone as strong as you would take orders from anyone."

"I am not a Hollow. I don't rely on instincts alone. We Shinigami are civilized." Hyoto responded. "But enough chitchat for now. Stay still and except your fate, you're going to die now."

Hyoto placed one foot back and moved into a throwing stance, one sword in front of him and the other behind his head. The blade behind his head started to change shape, expanding horizontally into a spear-like form. The spear-tip formed facing Grande Crassher, then the up until now, blue spear, turned black.

" _Kurayami no Yari_ " Hyoto said softly, his voice radiating power. He now held a black flaming spear in his hand. One that emanated Spiritual Pressure. If Hollows could gulp, Grande Crassher certainly would.

"Die, Grande Crassher." Was all Hyoto said before throwing the energy-formed spear.

It soared through the air. Crossing the distance between Hyoto and Grande Crassher in a matter of seconds. But those few seconds were all Grande Crassher needed to evade the attack.

Even though he could not completely dodge it, Grande Crassher managed to reinforce his hierro enough that it would protect his shoulder. As quickly as his huge body would allow it, Grande Crassher twisted it to the side so that the black flaming spear only grazed it and bounced off to the right.

The attack landed, somewhere in the distance, at least a mile away. It exploded in a bright inferno. Red-golden flames shooting up into the sky, blowing away the desert roof above the trees.

The blast levelled all the trees in a one mile radius, creating a new clearing with a two-hundred foot wide hole in the middle.

Grande Crassher screamed in pain, as the blast tore away the back part of his long body, leaving him now with nine-hundred-and-fifty legs, instead of a thousand.

"ARG! Curse you, Shinigami!" Grande Crassher howled. "I will spill your dead remains on the grounds of Hueco Mundo! I will make you wish for death!"

Hyoto remained impassive, giving the centipede Hollow a neutral expression. "I told you not to move, and you did. It's your own fault." He said in a monotone voice.

The Hollow was infuriated. "DIE!" It screamed. Another purple cero formed between its tusks. "CERO!" Grande Crassher bellowed.

Hyoto merely raised his hand. "Bakudo #81, Danku."

A light blue barrier formed between Hyoto and the incoming cero, which impacted the barrier and exploded, creating a smoke cloud which obscured Hyoto from the Hollow's vision. When the smoke dissipated, it revealed a completely intact barrier and an unharmed Hyoto, who stood behind the shield with a bored expression. Grande Crassher screamed in rage and darted for the Shinigami Captain, going as fast as his many legs would allow it.

Hyoto saw it coming a mile away.

He jumped to the side easily, as the huge Hollow thundered past him, before crashing against some trees, causing them to fall.

"Your speed has decreased. Those back-legs of yours are important for your speed, are they not?" Hyoto pointed out. Now that he got a clear look at them, they did seem to be bigger and stronger than the legs in front.

Grande Crassher hissed in response.

"I see. So in order to immobilize you, I need to cut off your legs, back to front." Hyoto stated with a confident nod.

"Don't talk as if you've already defeated me!' Grande Crassher yelled. It formed another cero between its tusks.

Hyoto countered with another Danku.

"Those weak cero's are getting really annoying, you know." Hyoto said mockingly. It was then that he noticed Grande Crassher no longer was above ground. He quickly shunpo-ed up a tree and took position on a low hanging branch, just above Grande Crassher's height.

Hyoto looked down to the ground, which was still covered by the smoke screen caused by the cero.

' _Where is he coming from?_ ' He asked himself. His eyes narrowed, glaring at the sandy ground. He could not see anything because of the smoke. ' _So that was his plan._ '

He put a hand on the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes, concentrating on the tremors in the ground. For a moment he didn't feel anything. Just the slight breeze caused by the many holes in the desert roof. Then he felt it.

' _Behind me!_ ' Hyoto shunpo-ed away from the tree, just as Grande Crassher burst from the ground and collided the tree on which Hyoto was perched. The tree shattered in a million little pieces. But Grande Crassher wasn't finished with his attack yet.

Hyoto didn't have any time to manoeuvre and dodge the incoming cero, fired from Grande Crassher's tusks. It exploded right in front of Hyoto, launching him away from the impact zone at a great speed.

The breath was knocked out of Hyoto twice. When the cero impacted about a metre in front of him, and when he crashed into one of the thickest stone-trees in the Forest of Menos he had ever seen. At least thirty feet in diameter.

He slammed into the tree and dug through the first half of the tree, causing it to snap in half and fall to the ground and crash with a big THUMP. Tremors rocked the ground when the tree landed on the ground.

Hyoto was still imbedded in the tree, completely dazed. His brain thumped loudly, giving him a massive headache. His back was hurting and his right shoulder seemed dislocated. He moved it around a bit and immediately regretted it, his shoulder was definitely dislocated. He clenched his jaw in pain.

He got up with a loud groan, leaning on his left arm, the only one not causing him pain using it. Hyoto grunted, he was lucky he hadn't broken his back.

Grande Crassher came barrelling through some more trees, before coming to a grinding halt in front of Hyoto. His tusks were clapping together in a rapid pace, showing it's anger.

Hyoto, who was still slightly crouched, immediately jumped up, ready to face the Hollow. But almost fell on his face. His vision blurred and he lost his balance, falling on his knees. He could faintly hear Grande Crassher chuckle.

"How do like that, Captain Hyoto." The creature sneered. "Not so quick on your feet now, are you?"

"This…was your… doing?" Hyoto wheezed out. A wave of nausea overcame him.

"Very much so." The Hollow cackled, finding immense pleasure in seeing the Shinigami Captain in pain. "Another special ability of mine."

Hyoto narrowed his eyes at the Hollow. "What…Do you mean?"

The Hollow chuckled again. " Did you think all I could do was shoot cero's and destroy trees? No, I can do much more than that. Did you really think a Vasto Lorde like me does not have two or three trump cards available?"

Hyoto felt like slapping himself across the face. That was stupid of him. Of course a Vasto Lorde would have tricks. He had let himself drown in his anger, a mistake he was now going to pay for.

"Do you remember those _lovely_ smoke screens from earlier?" The Hollow continued. "Those weren't smoke screens, but clouds of poisonous gas! And you, foolish Shinigami, just inhaled a fatal amount!" The Hollow laughed victoriously.

Hyoto felt his heart clench. ' _I poisoned myself!_ ' He panicked. This was not good. A poison was difficult to treat, especially if he did not know any anti-dotes against this particular poison. And those were almost impossible to create fast enough to use, let alone when the poison is unknown.

The Hollow's laugh died down.

"Well, fatal to weak creatures. Your gigantic amount of reiatsu will probably prevent any deaths, which is most unfortunate. I would like to see you squirming in pain, as your blood turns to fire and your organs fail one by one." Grande Crassher said with a malicious voice.

Hyoto breathed out a sigh of relief. At least he was not in danger of dying a painful death. But he still didn't know if this had any lasting effects. So he tried to gather a little information from the Hollow.

"So…that's it? Not very…impressive." Hyoto taunted.

Grande Crassher responded with a sneer. "For you? Unfortunately yes… your immensely dense reiatsu prevents serious effects." The Hollow growled. "But you will not get away from it unscathed." It snarled.

Hyoto tried to respond and move towards the Hollow a bit, but immediately fell down again and started heaving, his stomach threatening to empty itself.

The Hollow moved it's many legs, inching closer to the poisoned Captain.

"Even now, the poison unsettles your body. It strains the blood veins leading to the brain, causing a paralyzing headache. It travels through your stomach, causing nausea." Grande Crassher growled, still moving closer.

"Eventually, it would've damaged your heart. Your blood would've thickened so much, it would no longer flow through your veins. And you would be dead."

Grande Crassher lunged at Hyoto the moment he was done talking, attempting to grab him in its tusks. It failed however, as Hyoto wasn't as immobile as he seemed to be. He shunpo-ed away a hundred feet, just outside of Grande Crassher's reach.

"But your reiatsu prevents that." The Hollow continued as if he never attacked at all. "It keeps the poison away and lessens the effects. But it is enough to render you useless in a fight, which makes it a lot easier for me to kill you."

Hyoto heaved again. ' _Crap, he is right. I can't do much now.'_ He looked at Grande Crassher. He needed to get the poison out of his system somehow. ' _I doubt that it'll negate itself if I take in another dose._ ' He grunted as a stinging spike of pain jabbed into his side. ' _Shit, how can I cure the poison!?_ '

This was all starting to get on Hyoto's nerves. He didn't have time for this, he needed to regroup with Harasaki and the rest. But as long as Grande Crassher stood before him, he couldn't go anywhere.

Hyoto sighed deeply, not liking the thing he had to do now. ' _It's going to attract every damn Hollow in the area. But it's the only way…_ '

He let his gaze shift towards Grande Crassher.

"The smoke… originated from your cero… correct?" Hyoto managed to wheeze out. Grande Crassher had stopped moving and now watched Hyoto very carefully.

Hyoto took the Hollow's silence as a yes. "So… that basically means that… the poison gas… is manufactured from reiatsu." Hyoto continued. He slowly managed to stand up straighter. "And all… reiatsu based attacks… can be overcome," Hyoto now stood completely straight and gave Grande Crassher a vicious glare. ", can be overcome… BY AN EVEN GREATER REIATSU!"

Grande Crassher lunged forward, but did not get far, as a terrible force of wind flung him backwards. The air contorted, as a huge pillar of light blew into the sky, much like before but three times bigger. The ground cracked and Grande Crassher had trouble keeping his many limbs from disappearing into the fissure's.

Hyoto could almost sigh in relief as he felt the poison being forced from his body by his own reiatsu. His forehead was glistening with sweat. He couldn't let too much reiatsu flow out, lest he wanted to unleash his Bankai.

A nearby tree shattered from the intense pressure, coating the ground around it with thousands of broken pieces.

Hyoto let his reiatsu waver, feeling that the poison was now pretty much useless. The pressure relented and the pillar of light dissipated.

"Now I'm no longer under the effects of your poison." Hyoto said. He raised his right zanpakuto, both of which he had managed to hold on to, and pointed it at Grande Crassher. "We can continue this fight."

Grande Crassher hissed. "You might not feel the effects anymore, but the poison was in your body long enough to cause a little permanent damage." It growled.

Hyoto's balance wavered as soon as the words left Grande Crassher's mouth. He steadied his feet in a desperate attempt to remain standing. He could faintly hear the Hollow chuckle.

"See what I mean? The nausea and headache may have left you, but it seems your balancing organs have not remained unscathed." Hyoto flinched. Indeed, his ears were hurting and his vision was still a little bleary. ' _For fuck's sake, give me a goddamn break!_ ' Hyoto thought frustrated.

Even though his balance was off, it wasn't so bad that he couldn't swing his sword. And although his vision was bad, he could easily make out Grande Crassher's form, just not distinct details. ' _Well, at least I can see his attacks coming_ '

Hyoto, now no longer influenced by the poison, quickly fired a wordless kido at the now distracted Grande Crassher.

It hit it somewhere in it's, what Hyoto assumed to be, neck.

"AARG! Damn you, Shinigami!" Grande Crassher screamed in pain and rage.

Hyoto used this moment of distraction to cast another kido. "Hado #93, Kongōbaku!" A red sphere of fire formed in front of Hyoto's hand. The fire twirling and swirling in circles. When Hyoto released the sphere and shot it towards Grande Crassher, it left a long tail of smoke behind, as well as little embers that broke of the fiery globe.

Through Grande Crassher's confusion, the Hollow did not see the attack coming and was hit full in the face. He let out an anguished yell and desperately tried to quench the fire out with his blade-like limbs.

Hyoto was about to form another black spear, when Grande Crassher suddenly snapped it's head in Hyoto's direction and released a powerful cero. The purple beam surged strongly but didn't reach Hyoto, instead it decimated a tree a couple of feet behind Hyoto.

Hyoto learned from his mistake earlier and evaded the incoming gas cloud of poison. Once he deemed he was a safe distance away he turned his attention back to Grande Crassher, who was still squirming while trying to put the fire out.

Hyoto cursed when Grande Crassher suddenly dove underground. He shunpo-ed to the hole whilst forming another black spear, and with a fluent motion threw it into the hole.

The ground gave way and was blown skywards. Fissures with flames bursting from it appeared all over the ground surrounding the hole. A crater rapidly formed itself and revealed a long, wide passageway that led deep into the ground. ' _So that is where he was hiding._ ' Hyoto thought.

His head snapped around as he detected multiple presences closing in on his position, no doubt Hollows. He cursed. He gave one more look around and quickly deducted that Grande Crassher wasn't going to come out soon. ' _He knows that he can't beat me above ground. No way is he taking that chance._ '

Hyoto sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to fight him on his own turf. Goddamnit…" Hyoto said to himself softly.

He could of course just let Grande Crassher be and regroup with Harasaki and the others, but they have wounded and he couldn't take the chance of Grande Crassher getting the jump on them again. They already lost someone. And before he could change his mind, Hyoto jumped into the hole.

He fell for about thirty seconds, before the long passageway grew out into an even bigger cavern. It spread out wide and far, so far Hyoto could barely see the walls.

He landed on a sandy floor -much like the ground above- with a very loud THUMP! The ground cracked under him, as he used the reishi in the air to soften the impact.

"Now, where are you hiding?" Hyoto muttered softly. He glanced around the cavern. It seemed to reach just as high as the trees in the Forest of Menos. He couldn't see any evidence of said trees, indicating that they did not grow ' _under-the- underground'_. ' _Great, that means I can't crash into them._ ' Hyoto thought dryly.

Unfortunately, that also meant that he couldn't perch himself on one of the branches.

He glanced back at the tunnel he came from. The daylight could barely be seen. Just a teeny tiny little dot amidst a large black space. Sand slowly dribbled down every now and then.

He now turned his attention towards the vast open ground of the cavern. Sandy dunes decorated the landscape, as well as a few bones of Hollows popping out at random places. ' _So this is his lair…_ ' Hyoto thought. He could also identify some human remains among the Hollow bones. ' _So we are not his first victims…'_ Hyoto's expression darkened. "That son of a bitch will pay!" He growled out.

He gripped the hilts of his duo-zanpakuto tightly and marched further into the cavern, eyeing everything that moved for a clue of Grande Crassher.

It was rare for his zanpakuto spirit to display any emotion to Hyoto. It usually just slumbered. But nonetheless, his swords were humming and vibrating in response to his anger. No doubt his inner world was in turmoil.

He continued to walk. His feet giving soft thuds as they crushed the sand beneath them. He was making as little noise as possible, trying his best not to alert Grande Crassher of his presence.

Silence ruled over the vast cavern, not a single sound could be heard except for the thuds his footsteps made and the rustling of sand from the breeze.

And then he noticed it. The sand the rustled from the breeze. Hyoto couldn't feel any wind.

Then two things happened at once. Grande Crassher shot up from his buried position under the sand and Hyoto slashed his sword in a diagonal arc. One of the abilities his shikai offered, was allowing him to make reiatsu based attacks, much like Gyura. So when he slashed his sword, a blue arc of compressed Spiritual Energy formed and shot towards Grande Crassher.

The arc and Grande Crassher met and resulted in a large explosion that settled a cloud of dust and sand over the area.

Once it settled, Hyoto could see that a deep trench had dug itself from his attack, and that it lead to a rather large crater with a couple of centipede-limbs in it. Grande Crassher had once again disappeared. Hyoto clenched his jaw in anger. "Stop hiding you fucking coward!" He yelled in frustration. He didn't have time for this!

He barely had time to dodge the incoming cero from behind. Grande Crassher resurfaced with a loud roar and began firing cero's in a mad frenzy. "I will kill you, Shinigami!" Grande Crassher bellowed.

Grande Crassher was in obvious pain. He had a fraction of his mask broken off, just below his left tusk, which was a major show of weakness in a Hollow's eyes. He also had plenty of his legs missing, slowing his general movement.

"You will pay for what you did to me!" Grande Crassher continued.

Hyoto had about enough of this. Grande Crassher was now just randomly firing cero's in all directions, blind in pain and anger. ' _I will finish this now!_ ' Hyoto thought.

When he found a break in the barrage of cero's Hyoto immediately began his counteroffensive. He initiated by firing more of those blue arcs of energy, which impacted one by one, further cutting into the Centipede-Hollow. Grande Crassher could only howl in pain as each arc cut away more of his body. Hollow blood sprayed from the wounds, coating the ground a very dark red.

" _Kurayami no Yari!_ " Hyoto exclaimed as a flaming black spear formed in his right hand. He threw the spear at the Hollow who, despite the many wounds, still found the necessary strength and speed to dodge the attack.

The spear flew past Grande Crassher's large figure and exploded behind him. Fire and sand blasting into the air as the shockwave reshaped the cavern's floor.

Grande Crassher retaliated by firing a cero, which Hyoto blocked by casting a Danku spell.

Grande Crassher screamed as he darted forward, each of his remaining legs impacting the ground, causing small holes to appear in the ground. His limbs made a thundering sound as the Hollow propelled itself forward. Once Grande Crassher was close enough, the Centipede-Hollow lunged towards Hyoto, attempting to pierce his tiny frame with one of its more longer front legs.

Hyoto shunpo-ed to the side as the ground cracked and collapsed from the force of Grande Crassher's attack.

"Why won't you just DIE!" Grande Crassher screamed. "You pesky little bug! You annoying puny little fly!" Grande Crassher accentuated every word by slamming on of his legs into the ground with earth-shattering force. "Causing me all this pain! All this humiliation! I will not be defeated by a Shinigami!" The Hollow's screams echoed in the cavern. "Just DIE!"

His last sentence went accompanied by a very large, very powerful cero, one that slammed into the far back wall of the cavern. It exploded, and hundreds of rocks rained down, accompanied by the earth trembling from the force.

Hyoto had dodged the cero and was now on Grande Crassher's right, crouched down and ready to strike. His left hand was starting to glow eerily, as well as his sword seemingly sinking into the bright glow. It grew brighter and brighter, until…

" _Shintoukousen!_ " Hyoto yelled. A large yellow beam of light shot from Hyoto's left hand, and struck Grande Crassher right in the chest. Hyoto had his eyes almost squinted shut, the light from the attack almost blinding him. The beam of light made a loud humming noise, so loud Hyoto almost couldn't hear the exclamations from Grande Crassher. "AAH! It burns, it burns!"

When the light started to die down, Hyoto could see the writhing form of Grande Crassher on the ground, a large hole burned into his chest, with the edges still glowing red from the heat.

Hyoto quickly approached with his sword raised, intending to cut Grande Crassher down once and for all. But the Centipede-Hollow did not seem so incapacitated as he let on.

Once Hyoto was near enough it swung on of his legs forward, intending to club Hyoto away. Hyoto however, through years of combat experience, managed to evade it. He was too late, however, to notice a second leg.

"BALA!" Grande Crassher cried. A short purple blast of highly concentrated reiatsu shot from the leg, almost too quick to follow. It was a slightly domed shaped blast, almost as thin as a sheet of paper, but it was enough to catch Hyoto off guard.

It crashed into him and exploded, causing him to be flung away a little over fifty feet, his chest slightly charred.

Hyoto managed to plant his two feet on the ground, dragging him to a stop and leaving behind dust trails. Once he stopped he planted one of his swords into the ground and flung his other arm around his chest in pain.

His skin was burned and charred and stung like hell. Smoke rose from the burn wounds. Hyoto hissed in pain. "You little fucker." He cussed softly.

He rose to his feet just as Grande Crassher came barrelling towards him. The damage caused to him by the poison and the pain from his chest denied him the chance of dodging the Hollow. He managed to raise his swords alongside him, so that the tusks that grabbed him didn't cut into his skin.

Grande Crassher raised Hyoto above its head. Hyoto could see it's red eyes glaring at him, although one was considerably fainter, as it was damaged.

Grande Crassher let out a loud roar. "You have caused me so much pain, Shinigami! I will kill you slowly. Your agony will be eternal!" It screamed at him. "And after that, I will find your friends. I will find them and kill them, just like I will kill you! Slowly, painfully! I will tear them apart!"

That was the wrong thing to say, as Hyoto eyes flooded with unsuppressed anger. He screamed, and in one fluent movement, twisted his arms and off the Hollow's tusks, drawing yet another pain filled scream from Grande Crassher.

Hyoto was released and formed a platform for him to stand on from the reishi in the air. He raised both of his blade skywards and screamed at the top of his lungs.

" _Hasai Hibashira!_ "

A loud crack of thunder could be heard, before a terrifying green glow lit up the cavern. And with a gigantic blow, the ceiling of the cavern gave way to an enormous pillar of green energy. The pillar slammed into Grande Crassher and forced the Hollow to the ground. The ground beneath the Hollow burned and cracked, the intense pressure moulding it in other shapes and sizes. The pressure pressed on the ground so much that the sand hardened and solidified.

The great pillar slowly shrunk until there was just little cord left, until it exploded and caused violent winds to lash out everywhere surrounding the impact zone.

Mountains of sand piled up all around ground zero of Hyoto's attack. All flowing outward. A very wide hole had formed, all the sand blasted away by the strong winds that followed the explosion. Even closer to the centre, the sand had turned to class. Above Hyoto, the ceiling started to crumble, large pieces of stone and buckets of sand fell down into the now uncovered cavern. It crumbled until it met the edges of the cavern's walls.

But that was of no concern to Hyoto. He didn't care for the falling ceiling. He had reverted into his normal Shinigami form, his blades had become one again and was now sheathed at his side. His black Shinigami attire reappeared on his body, tattered and bloody. He walked towards the centre of the crater, a cold expression on his face.

In the crater, at its centre, lay the mangled form of Grande Crassher. They only distinguishable part of his body being his head and the first fifty legs, or at least, those that weren't cut off. The rest of the Hollow's once gigantic body was all melted away from the intense heat of the ' _Hasai Hibashira_ ' attack. Every now and then, a strained moan of utter pain could be heard. As if the very sound of it prolonged the victim's agony.

Hyoto calmly made his way over to the Hollow's head, slowly unsheathing his sword again, upon the discovery that it was still alive. He climbed on top of the remains and walked towards the face. The Hollow was lying on its side, one eye-socket pointed towards where the ceiling used to be.

"You won, Shinigami. Is there any need to prolong my pain?" Grande Crassher uttered weakly, clearly having accepted his death by the hands of a Shinigami.

"Not even two minutes ago, you were threatening me and my comrades." Hyoto responded. "What do you think?"

"I suppose I did, and I would have followed up on that threat." The Hollow managed to answer.

"And that is why I haven't finished you off yet. You deserve the pain." Hyoto said darkly. "I should probably just walk away and let you rot away on your own."

"Then go ahead, Shinigami, leave me here. Don't bask in your glory over a defeated opponent, at least let me die in peace." Grande Crassher retorted, it's voice soft and empty, void of all emotions. It slowly closed it's glowing red eye.

Hyoto gazed at the creature, with an expression that almost bordered pity. Pity for being defeated by an arch-nemesis. But then it turned thoughtful.

"Me and my companions came here for a reason. Perhaps, if you could provide some answers, I could end your misery?"

Grande Crassher merely opened his eye in a bored expression, not reacting to the offer. "I am already near dying, why should I help you? You can't threaten me with death anymore."

"I will allow you the glory of being bested by the strongest of the Shinigami. You managed to wound me and force me to use my shikai." Hyoto said, trying but hardly succeeding, in putting as much compassion into his voice as possible. "I will talk of Grande Crassher in the halls of the Seireitei and speak of his abilities. This fight will become a legend, and all will remember the name Grande Crassher with fear."

That seemed to spark some interest in Grande Crassher, he might die, but at least the Shinigami would fear his name. He closed his eye again. "Very well, Captain Hyoto Mikadame, Captain of the 6th Division, what do you want answered?"

Hyoto gained a small smile, his soft side shining through. It was almost immediately removed once he realised that it was still a Hollow. "Yesterday our research department registered an enormous amount of reiatsu in Hueco Mundo. Even more than what we have displayed here. We were send to investigate and exterminate the source. Do you know what, or who, it is?" Hyoto asked. Grande Crassher's eye snapped open at this, but it closed it almost immediately, something that didn't go unnoticed by Hyoto. ' _So he knows…'_

"I didn't realise you were after him, Shinigami. Now I can't help but pity your foolishness." The Hollow said.

Hyoto ignored the last sentence. "Who is him?" Hyoto asked with venom

The Hollow gazed at Hyoto unflinchingly. "He, is a very dangerous being, Shinigami." It said in a lecturing voice. "Never have I met something, or someone, as terrifying as him." Grande Crassher paused for a while. Hyoto calmly waited for the Hollow to continue.

Grande Crassher continued. "He is a Hollow. He lives here, in Hueco Mundo. Where I cannot say, no one can for that matter. He shows up when he wants to." Grande Crassher grunted, as another bout of pain hit him. Hyoto supposed that if a Hollow could sob, it would pretty much sound like this.

"He is greater than any Hollow. The strongest of the strongest. The only thing that could possess a greater reiatsu than what we have displayed here. You better have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, Shinigami, because against him you'll need them." The Hollow warned.

"I have yet to show you my true strength, Grande Crassher." Hyoto returned the favour of using the Hollow's name. "Yet, that you have forced me this far is quite a feat."

"There's no need to flatter me anymore, I'm dying as it is. But he would still crush you, even in this form. I am a mere bug that will be crushed under a boot compared to him. He has no equal." Grande Crassher responded to Hyoto's attempt at flattery, no need to make the dead feel better for themselves.

"He is a legend, a myth, even under the Hollows. Few have ever seen him, and even fewer have survived a meeting."

"So he's aggressive?" Hyoto asked. "He fights other Hollows?"

Grande Crassher let out a strained laugh. "I said nothing about fighting, Shinigami. No, his mere presence is enough to turn the weak into dust."

Hyoto's eyes widened a fraction at this. He was also known to cause weaker Shinigami to fall to their knees if he didn't control his reiatsu. It happened a couple hours ago too.

"We would have known if a creature like him would exist. Yet we have no record of him." Hyoto stated.

Grande Crassher merely laughed again. "And who could record him? Like I said, Shinigami, few Hollows survive an encounter. Shinigami don't survive at all." Grande Crassher's voice gained an amused tone. "I myself once had the pleasure of witnessing a fight between a Shinigami and him, it was over before I could blink." It chuckled, as if reminiscing old memories. "In fact, that Shinigami looked an awful lot like you…" The Hollow trailed off.

Hyoto's eyes snapped open at this revelation. He stomped on the Hollow's mangled body in anger, to which the creature yelled in pain. "Give. Me. His. Name." Hyoto growled out. Reiatsu started to leak out of him again, and Grande Crassher feared that he would no longer receive his merciful ending. Nevertheless outwardly he didn't flinch, which was an impressive feat since Hyoto looked downright demonic.

"Among us he is known as The Bone-Dragon. A skeletal demon that feasts upon the weak. He is feared even by Vasto Lorde's. I do not know his real name, but I would fear to pronounce it."

Hyoto released his foot and the pressure and reeled in his reiatsu. "Where can I find him?" He asked, his face void of anything.

"I told you, Shinigami. You don't find him, he finds you." Grande Crassher said loudly. "You should consider yourself lucky he hasn't already. With what you showed me today you will have lured any Hollow to here in a two-hundred mile radius!"

Hyoto drew his blade and held it just above the Hollow's head. "You fulfilled your end of the deal. Hold still, and I will end you painlessly."

Grande Crassher released a tired sigh, the pain was quickly catching up to him. "A shame, to have been defeated by a Shinigami. But a privilege, to have fallen to the strongest of them all." The Hollow muttered faintly. "Our fight was epic, Captain Hyoto. The best one I ever had."

Hyoto raised his sword higher and pointed it downwards, the blade's tip now dangling a couple of inched above the Hollow's face.

"You were a challenging opponent, Grande Crassher. The strongest Vasto Lorde I have ever seen." Hyoto responded in kind.

Grande Crassher gave a soft scoff. "I told you Shinigami, flattery is useless."

And after those words Hyoto brought his sword down in a fast, powerful motion and speared Grande Crassher's head. The Hollow made no further sounds as he dissolved into black particles and sent into the reincarnation cycle.

Hyoto closed his eyes and sheathed his sword, an action perfected in many decades, and a ritual when he defeated a worthy enemy. He remained still for a few moments, trying to wrap his thoughts around the new information he received.

Hyoto's face scrunched up. ' _I now have a description of the reiatsu source, at least._ ' Hyoto thought. ' _And apparently, that source has killed my father._ '

It was painfully obvious. Hyoto's father died on a mission to Hueco Mundo, went and never came back. Grande Crassher said that a Shinigami faced off against this ' _Bone-Dragon_ ' and was apparently defeated in an instant.

Hyoto then became very angry. At the supposed ' _Bone-Dragon_ ', at himself for a reason he could not name, at his father for abandoning him when he was young, and forcing him to grow up early. He was angry at it all. And he had at least expected for his father to put up a bit of show in his final moments, go out with a bang, not like a mosquito who is flattened against a wall.

Hyoto took a deep breath and opened his eyes. No use getting mad over ghosts of the past. His father was dead, Grande Crassher was dead, and 'The Bone-Dragon' would soon be dead too, he would make sure of that. ' _He might be The Bone-Dragon, but I am The Devil-Captain. We'll see who's the strongest._ '

But it still concerned Hyoto, even if only a little. This Hollow was apparently so strong that it installed fear into Hollow's of equal strength to Grande Crassher. And even though Hyoto did win, Grande Crassher proved to be one hell of a fight to bring down, if his wounds indicated anything.

And speaking of his wounds, the stinging pain caused by the burns on his chest returned. Hyoto looked down and almost vomited. His chest was a mess of blisters and blackened skin. It was red and sore, and looked like raw meat.

Hyoto knew little about healing kido, enough to treat not-too-deep sword cuts and small infections, nothing that could treat something this severe. But still, it was better than to just leave it rot.

He created a little dome-shaped shield over the burns, he cringed as it settled against his damage skin. The kido slowly began to knit it all back together. And while he was unable to get rid of the blisters, he was able to get dispose of the charred skin and turn the colour of his flesh back to a more natural red. The stinging pain diminished somewhat, but it didn't go away in its entirety.

Hyoto sighed, as most of the pain subsided. He focused now on the enemy he had to face. ' _I'm going to need my Bankai, that's for sure. But can I handle it?_ ' Was his first thought.

So far he could only control up to the Third Gate. If he went further than that his reiatsu would destabilize and cause his powers to go out of control. 'I'm going to have to risk it. Rather have myself in the 4th Division's barracks for a few months than have a potential threat that could destroy the entire Soul Society.' Hyoto mused.

But that poised another problem. If he were to activate his Bankai, that would mean that Harasaki and the rest would also be in lethal danger. If they were to close his reiatsu would snuff them out.

' _I'm going to have to send them ahead to the Soul Society._ ' Hyoto decided. It would be much too dangerous for them to be involved in a fight that required Hyoto to access his overly destructive Bankai.

Hyoto sighed. ' _It's gonna be a pain in the ass to convince them though._ ' He thought tiredly. His subordinated were nothing if not loyal.

Hyoto got up to his feet and looked at the cavern again. The entire ceiling had come down, the debris littering the small desert. The cavern walls were mostly intact, except for the many cracks caused by the continuous strain of reiatsu and the large hole Grande Crassher's cero had caused. Hyoto took in all the details of the conclusion between him and Grande Crassher. He would keep his words and tell the Gotei 13 of this battle.

He shunpo-ed to the top of the cavern, landing softly on the rocky ground between the tall trees. He looked back at th cavern and took a sharp breath. The hole, more like crater, was a mile in diameter, a lot bigger than Hyoto initially thought.

Hyoto shook his head and tried to sense the other's reiatsu signatures. He was wary of his surroundings. In the short time he and his subordinates have been in Hueco Mundo, he had not sensed the strange reiatsu. Captain-Urahara described it merely as ' _strange_ ' and that he would recognize it when he sensed it. And since he hadn't so far, that meant that the Hollow had the ability to hide his reiatsu or it knows how to stay out of range from his senses.

' _That could pose a problem._ ' Hyoto mused. Since it was supposedly a ' _dragon_ ', Hyoto assumed that he would likely be flying around in the sky. That meant they had to climb up.

Hyoto finally caught a small glimpse of Harasaki's signature, the strongest of the group besides himself. He quickly made way towards the location, but something held him in his tracks. He came upon the corpse of Izaho.

Hyoto felt ashamed of himself. He had barely known Izaho, and he made it a point to frequently interact with his subordinates. Yet he could swear he had never heard his name before he showed up with Harasaki at the Senkeimon. And he was Lin's best friend on top of that.

' _I'm sorry, Izaho. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you._ ' Hyoto thought sadly. He fought to keep the tears in.

Hyoto wiped a stray tear of his face and made a decision. Izaho did not deserve to be left here. ' _Harasaki and the rest can wait a little longer._ '

With a little abuse from his powers, Hyoto managed to dig a shallow grave. Once he deposited the sand on a neat heap next to the grave, he went to pick up Izaho's… body parts. He had trouble keeping his stomach from heaving, the sight was gruesome.

He started with Izaho's lower half, and gently placed it inside the grave. He then proceeded towards the upper half, lingering a little on Izaho's face. It still bore the expression of shock when Grande Crassher had suddenly surfaced and snapped him in half.

Hyoto slowly moved his hand to Izaho's face and gently closed his eyes. He then picked up the body piece and joined it with its counterpart. He took one glance at the organs that were splattered around, having fallen out of the body, and decided to leave them be.

Hyoto shoved the earth back into the grave, covering Izaho and creating a small lump on the surface. He gazed at it with a sad expression. "You have fought in my name bravely. May you bask in your achievements and re-join your ancestors. You will be missed, rest in peace." Hyoto said softly, his voice carrying on the faint breeze that blew through the trees. He made a quick gesture with his hand and turned away from the grave.

It was then that he noticed moving figures in between the trees. Shadows stalking through the shade the trees provided.

' _Hollows, no doubt attracted to the reiatsu I released._ ' Hyoto's anger returned. He already had to face some ' _all-powerful_ ' Hollow, he didn't have time for these little things. ' _I wonder how many times I've said that to myself today..._ '

He couldn't see exactly how many there were, but he could count at least two dozen. He was about to draw his blade, once again, when the first Hollows crawled into the light. Hyoto could now clearly see them, all kinds of colours with all kinds of ugly masks.

He growled at them, his temper reaching a boiling point. He drew his zanpakuto and was about to charge in, when a presence made itself known.

The first thing Hyoto heard was a monstrous roar, one that could echo between mountains. Then the reiatsu hid him. It was something he had never felt before. It was terrifying, unnatural. It forced him to fall flat on his face. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, it was as if an ocean had fallen upon him and he had sunk to the very bottom, the pressure almost killing him.

The pressure increased until he saw a large shadow shooting over the clearing. It had wings and a long tail. Slowly the pressure seemed to lessen, until Hyoto could stand again. He knew exactly what that was.

His gaze flew up, in search for any of the hollows, but they were all gone. He could no longer see any movement in the shades. They had all died.

And then he realised it, the direction in which the shade had gone. He was to occupied in trying to survive the intense pressure that it had slipped his mind.

The Bone-Dragon was heading towards Harasaki and the rest.

…

 **So that's the chapter. Hyoto beat the crap out of the Hollow that killed Izaho. In case you guys don't know, every kido I used is an original technique in the canon, I found them on the Bleach Wiki. So Hyoto unleashed his Shikai. I tried my best to describe it, but descriptions aren't exactly my strong suit, so any comments on that are appreciated.**

 **Translations:**

 **Kiyohi Kaimetsu:** **Great Destruction**

 **Kurayami no Yari:** **Spear of Darkness**

 **Shintoukousen:** **Sacred Light Ray**

 **Hasai Hibashira:** **Crushing Pillar of Fire**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome to Chapter 3. It's only 7k words, but that is because I split it up in chapter 3 and chapter 3.5. It just sounded better that way, since I devised an ending that was very much suiting for their situation, if that makes sense. If not, tough luck.**

 **I don't own bleach.**

…

Harasaki had them regroup up on a dune. It provided a decent view on the hole they came from. They found an opening in the desert roof a good twenty miles away from Captain-Hyoto's battle. And now they were back in the endless desert of upper Hueco Mundo, with no clue as to where they actually were. Harasaki could not spot a single landmark that he had recognized when they first arrived. There were no tiny little bushes that were actually the tops of the huge stone trees, the only thing he could see as sand, endless dunes and hills of stark white sand.

"Well, we're pretty much screwed." Chisuru stated dryly.

Harasaki didn't think that that was far from the truth. No clue on where they were, exhausted from a battle with thirty Menos Grande, wounded and with only two ' _functioning_ ' fighters, since Gyura was unconscious and Lin too traumatized to fight. "Yeah, we're screwed." Harasaki confirmed.

"That's not something you're supposed to agree on." Chisuru deadpanned, causing Harasaki to chuckle.

"What do you want me to say? You want me to lie about the situation we're in right now?"

Chisuru sighed. "I guess not…" He muttered softly. "So? What are we going to do?" He asked, looking at Harasaki for answers. But before Harasaki could answer, Gyura woke up with a loud groan. "Ugh…"

Chisuru, who had laid Gyura down on the ground, immediately rushed to his side and knelt beside him. "Gyura! How you doing, man?" He practically screamed. It was then that Harasaki realised he had a massive headache, and Lin had one too, it seemed, as he clutched his head in pain at Chisuru's outbreak.

"Ow, Chisuru don't scream in my ear." Gyura said, trying with an angry face, but utterly failing. "I'm alright, just tired and extremely sore." Gyura suddenly grasped his chest in pain, his face scrounged up as he tried to keep in a scream. "And I think I may have exhausted my reiatsu reserves." He added.

Chisuru cursed and started to open up Gyura's Shinigami robes. Once his chest was bare they could all clearly see the large dark purple bruise, it was so dark as a matter of fact, that it bordered black. It was not extremely obvious, but Harasaki, with his trained eye, could see the bruise slowly expanding.

"Holy shit, Gyura…" Harasaki heard Chisuru breathe silently.

Gyura, despite the pain he was experiencing, tried for a grin. "It feels worse than it looks."

"Now is not the time for jokes, Gyura. This is serious." Harasaki said sternly. Harasaki's mind was racing with thoughts about how he could fix this. Gyura trying to lift the mood, frankly, was not helping. Gyura, for his part, looked sorry.

"Sorry, Lieutenant. Just trying to face my end on my own terms." Gyura said, his eyes hinting acceptance.

Harasaki, however, grew livid at Gyura's words. "Are you giving up…?" He said threateningly. Gyura just stared into Harasaki's eyes. "Are you saying that there is something we can do then?" Gyura phrased it as a question, but it seemed more as a statement. "I'm sorry Lieutenant, but I would rather that you don't get my hopes up when there are none."

Harasaki hung his head. ' _He's right, there's nothing we can do, unless…_ ' His mind trailed off, but then his eyes snapped wide open. ' _Unless… but it might do more harm than good, but still… it's worth a shot._ '

Gyura noticed Harasaki's eyes snapping open and gave him a confused gaze. "There's nothing we can do, right?" Harasaki sensed his question was earnest. He thought about telling Gyura or not, because like he said, getting his hopes up wouldn't do any good. In the end, he decided.

"There might be something we can do." He said after a moment of silence. Both Chisuru and Gyura looked up at him, shocked but eager to find out what Harasaki was talking about. "What are you talking about, Lieutenant?" Chisuru finally voiced the question he and Gyura were both thinking off.

Harasaki looked hesitant to tell it. "Gyura is suffering from reiatsu exhaustion, meaning that there is little to no reiatsu in his body." He began. "Basically, the treatment for this is keeping the victim under a continuous stream of regenerative reiatsu, until his body has replenished enough to heal on its own."

Gyura and Chisuru nodded, showing that they were following him and understood what he was saying.

"This is usually accomplished by healing kido that the 4th Division specializes in." Harasaki continued. "And it's not something that is widely known by the rest of the Gotei 13. I do not know how to administer it, nor does the Captain for that matter."

Harasaki laid his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto. "As you probably know, my zanpakuto works like a giant needle. On the inside is a tube that contains a poison. I can inject a person with it by stabbing them." Harasaki explained.

Gyura raised his eyebrow. "You want to stab me with your sword and inject your poison?" He questioned, though his tone said he was amused.

Harasaki shook his head. "I'm not going to poison you." He said.

At this Gyura raised both eyebrows. "But you are going to stab me?" He asked sounding less amused than he was before.

Harasaki ignored him. "If I can drain the poison, I can fill the tube with my reiatsu and inject you with it. Hopefully it will cure the reiatsu exhaustion."

Chisuru looked worried. "Wait, isn't it extremely dangerous to have reiatsu in your system that is not your own?"

Harasaki nodded dejectedly. "It is. Although it has been done before, it could still be lethal. And I'm not sure about side-effects. It could cause permanent ailment, or bodily mutations. Or it could cause spontaneous combustion if your system can't handle the strength of the reiatsu." He said.

Gyura remained silent throughout the whole explanation, taking in all the information in silence. When Harasaki was done, the group was silent, waiting for Gyura's decision. The silence was eventually broken, but not by any of the three.

"I think you should do it." Lin said strongly. Chisuru and Harasaki turned towards him. Chisuru had a shocked expression on his face. "How can you say that? He could die from this!"

Lin looked at Chisuru with a neutral expression. "If he doesn't do it, we're down one man. That reduces our chances of escaping this dreadful dimension of nothingness. If it works we have a Shinigami with powerful defensive abilities that can help protect us while we escape."

"And if it doesn't work!?" Chisuru countered.

"If it doesn't work… well he's dying as it is anyway." Lin posed good points. Even Harasaki could see that, but Chisuru did not see it, or did not want too.

"We just have to wait for Captain-Hyoto, when he gets here we can return and bring Gyura to the 4th Division barracks!" Chisuru sounded desperate.

"Chisuru, Captain-Hyoto may not be back for a long time. In the meantime we are exposed and vulnerable. Lin is right, if Gyura recovered we can better defend ourselves." Harasaki said softly. Chisuru still looked like he wanted to complain. "It's the only way."

"But-"

"Chisuru," Gyura interrupted him. ", I appreciate the concern." He turned to Harasaki. "Do it."

Harasaki gazed at Gyura with a worried look. "Are you absolutely sure? Do you understand the consequences?" He asked.

Gyura took a deep breath and steadied his resolve, determination now shining from his eyes. "I am aware of what could happen, and I accept whatever consequences there might be. I'll be damned if I let my comrades down. We're brothers in arms, Shinigami from the 6th Division, we don't abandon our own." Gyura locked eyes with everyone present. "Fucking do it!"

Harasaki nodded and gave Gyura the faintest of smiles. He then drew his zanpakuto, the blade glinting in the moonlight. He moved the tip of the blade over the centre of the expanding bruise on Gyura's chest. He then proceeded to drain the poison out of the blade, and filled it with a fraction of his own reiatsu. He gave Gyura one last look. "This is gonna hurt. A lot." He warned. Gyura, although looking extremely nervous, gave a determined nod.

But before Harasaki could drive the sword in, Chisuru grasped one of Gyura's hands and shoved a small twig he had found on the ground in Gyura's mouth. When Harasaki gave a questioning glance, he merely shrugged. "If he screams who knows what he'll alert." He then frowned and glared at Gyura. "And don't you dare break my hand." Gyura chuckled and firmly grasped Chisuru's hand. He nodded at Harasaki to begin.

Harasaki held on to the hilt with his right hand and laid his left on the pommel, giving it extra power for when he would thrust the sword in. "Alright, here we go." Harasaki drew the blade back, before swiftly stabbing Gyura in the chest.

When the tip punctured the skin in the bruise, Gyura tensed. His hand clutched Chisuru's tightly and a snapping sound could be heard. He bit down on the twig so hard that it broke. He grunted and growled in pain as Harasaki continued to drive the sword deeper in. Somehow Gyura managed to not scream out when the blade broke through the muscle layer.

Chisuru was now moaning over his own hand, that was still held tightly by Gyura. Harasaki could almost feel the pain Gyura was experiencing. Every muscle in his body was tensed, the veins in his arms, chest and neck painfully standing out against his skin. Harasaki could not help feeling a little sad, this treatment was equal, if not worse, to torture. ' _He's in so much pain, yet the worst is still to come._ '

Harasaki didn't exactly know how far he was supposed to drive his sword in. He was only aware of the theoretical procedure, he never had the opportunity to do a practical one.

Once the tip was halfway in Harasaki stopped. ' _I hope to God I haven't punctured his lungs._ ' Harasaki ignored the blood that streamed from the wound. It clashed with the dark purple wound, creating a sickening dark colour that Harasaki would rather forget for the rest of his life.

If Gyura was in any pain right now, that pain soon turned to incomprehensible agony when Harasaki injected his reiatsu. At this Gyura couldn't keep in his loud vocal scream. He let out a loud bellow, one that sounded inhumane and primal. Chisuru immediately reacted by shoving his remaining hand into Gyura's mouth, to which Gyura bit down. Now Chisuru had one hand nearly broken and the other was being bitten in so hard that blood was flowing.

Lin had snapped out of depressed daze and was now on his feet and his hand on his zanpakuto, frantically looking around for anything that might've heard Gyura scream. He moved over to stand behind Chisuru, who was crying openly and biting his lip to keep from cursing out loud. Lin glared at Gyura. "Kami's sake, Gyura. Keep quiet will you!?" He snapped at him. But Gyura made no indication of hearing Lin's remark.

Harasaki couldn't take Gyura's sobbing and screaming. It was tormenting, listening to his comrade screaming his lungs out. But he had too, otherwise Gyura wouldn't live. And it was too late to turn back. So instead of listening to Gyura in his torture, he focused on administering his reiatsu and keeping a steady flow. Too much and Gyura would succumb to Harasaki's strong reiatsu, too little and the process wouldn't properly set in.

The bruise on Gyura's chest was reacting violently to Harasaki's reiatsu. It had spread out to Gyura's upper arms and waist, covering his entire torso. It was a sickly purple, that now seemed to swirl and clash with itself. Gyura had now what seemed like a miniature ocean that was in the middle of a hurricane. Harasaki started growing worried. Gyura's skin started to bubble and boil. 'This is not supposed to happen! What is this?' Harasaki gasped in shock.

Gyura just wouldn't stop screaming. He tried desperately to keep it in, but the horrible pain overrode all his senses and thoughts. Gyura could feel nothing but pain, agonizing pain. He could feel the foreign reiatsu from Harasaki course underneath his skin. It hurt. It hurt so much. Like snakes made of fire slithered all throughout his body, coiling around his organs and burning his muscles. The pain paralyzed him. He could no longer scream, the pain wouldn't allow it anymore.

Harasaki noticed that Gyura grew silent. His eyes had rolled back into his head and his body shuddered, twitching uncontrollably. Short, pained gasps of air could be heard coming from Gyura's slightly parted lips as he struggled to breath.

' _Come on, Gyura. Come on! You can do this!_ ' Harasaki thought. Gyura was starting to move less and less. The whites of his eyes were blood shot, the veins clearly visible. Harasaki was startled when he felt a slight resistance against his blade. The reiatsu he was pumping into Gyura was being forced out by Gyura's body. Harasaki pressed in a little harder, the tube was almost empty.

' _Please, hold on a little longer._ ' Harasaki mentally begged Gyura. Once all the reiatsu he had administered was inside of Gyura, his body would have to adjust to it and hopefully absorb it. But that was all up to Gyura himself. ' _Come on, you can do this._ '

Gyura slowly stopped shuddering and gasping and Harasaki was struggling to keep his sword steady. It was becoming harder and harder to not push in too far. And then it ended. All the reiatsu had been pumped in, it was now up to Gyura to accept it.

Chisuru pulled his hand out of Gyura's mouth, blood flowing from where he was bitten. His hand was released and Chisuru was now kneeling besides Gyura with two abused hands. His face told concern.

Lin was also staring at Gyura with nervousness and worry. His hand was still firmly grasped on his hilt and every now and then he let his gaze wander around, trying to spot potential enemies.

Everybody was silent. Gyura had stopped moving, his eyes closed. Harasaki could not hear breathing coming from him and was about to put his ear to Gyura's mouth, when Gyura abruptly opened his eyes and let out a sharp gasp. Chisuru let out a sound of relief while Harasaki let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Gyura looked absolutely terrible. His eyes had bags under them and were bulging with veins. His breathing was fast and deep, as if he had just awoken from a nightmare, which he probably did. The bruise on his chest had stopped moving and slowly turned to a more natural colour, before fading away completely.

"Gyura…" Chisuru looked like he was about to cry. "Man, are you okay? Can you talk?" He asked worriedly.

Gyura made no indication of hearing his questions, but locked his eyes with Chisuru, still gasping. He then closed his eyes and nodded slightly, making Chisuru grin. And they remained quiet for a while, letting Gyura recover enough to speak.

"That… That was absolutely…Terrible." Gyura said after a few minutes, his voice weak and soft. "Fuck…" He groined when he tried to sit up. But he was quickly pushed down by Chisuru.

"Slow down tiger, not so fast. As your immediate field doctor I order you to rest." Harasaki chided. He quickly went to examine Gyura's chest and Reiatsu levels. The bruise had by now completely faded, and the spot that was pierced by Harasaki's sword had completely healed up during the restoration, the only evidence of it was scar about the size of a sword tip.

Harasaki let out a breath of relief. "Well, you seem okay. Your reiatsu has stabilized and their don't appear to be any signs of reiatsu poisoning." He said to Gyura, who nodded in relief. Chisuru immediately took it upon himself to guard over Gyura, at least until he could walk again.

Harasaki, who was still kneeling besides Gyura, stood up to stretch. He could hear a couple of satisfying pops in his spine. He then noticed that Lin had walked off a couple of feet, halfway down the dune he was standing, staring out over Hueco Mundo.

Harasaki walked over to him, standing next to him. Both were silent for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying the quiet.

"Gyura's fine, should be able to walk in an hour or so." Harasaki finally broke the silence, casting a sideways glance at Lin. He had his eyes focused strongly on the horizon.

"That's good." Lin finally said.

Harasaki frowned, Lin normally wasn't so silent when a comrade was hurt. Harasaki turned his head fully, taking in Lin's appearance. His entire body was tense, every muscle flexed. His blond hair softly waving on the breeze. His Shinigami robes were covered with dust and blood, Harasaki couldn't tell if it was all his. He then took in Lin's face. His eyes were cold and emotionless, his features tight, his jaw clenched shut. Harasaki knew what was wrong.

"How about you?" Harasaki asked.

Lin looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "What about me?" He asked. Harasaki knew that Lin was playing dumb, and he was tempted to comment on that, but decided to not antagonize Lin any further.

"A lot has happened over the time that we've been here. I'm asking how you're taking everything." Harasaki said. "So, how are you?"

Lin looked at the horizon again. "How long have we been here? It feels like it has been weeks." Lin changed topic.

Harasaki sighed. "Don't know, can't tell time here. Though I can't imagine that we've been here for more than twelve hours." Harasaki answered Lin's question. He knew full well that Lin was avoiding his question. ' _Fine, I'll play along._ '

Lin grunted in agreement. "We should really hurry up. We must have attracted the attention of Hollows by now. Gyura's screams certainly didn't help."

Harasaki frowned at Lin. He almost sounded accusing. "It's not like Gyura could help it. That operation is not exactly painless." Harasaki's tone was sharp. Now it was Lin's turn to frown.

"He could've tried harder to keep it in." Now Lin did sound accusing.

Harasaki was starting to get angry. He moved to stand in front of Lin, the slope causing Lin to look down on Harasaki. "He nearly bit Chisuru's hand off. I say he tried hard enough!" Harasaki said with a mild glare. Lin merely stared at him with cold eyes.

"That doesn't take away the fact that he was being loud." Lin snapped, borderline glaring. "I don't want to die here because Gyura couldn't handle a little pain."

Harasaki was livid. ' _How dare he say that about his own team mate!_ ' He thought angrily. He stepped closer to Lin, flaring his reiatsu a little. "So what if he was a little loud. So what if the pain was a little too much. If I remember correctly you were the one who told him to do it." Harasaki sneered. Lin flinched a little. "And don't give me that crap about alerting Hollows! I, and no doubt you too, didn't sense any living thing near this location. So how can we alert Hollows, when they aren't even here!"

Harasaki was ranting, and he knew it. He couldn't help it, he was under a little too much stress at the moment. "And I'll be damned if they do find us. I'm not going to let you all die! We've already lost Izaho, we're not gonna lose anyone else!"

Lin looked down to the ground at the mention of Izaho, and Harasaki stopped ranting. He had continued to walk forward during his rant, so they were almost back at the top of the dune.

Lin's posture sulked. "You don't know that. Don't promise things that you can't be certain of. For all you know there's another one of that centipede thing, just laying beneath the sand, waiting for us to let down our guard."

Harasaki caught a glimpse of Lin's eyes. They showed fear and were bordering on panic. His body was starting to shake too, and Lin was starting to hyperventilate. Harasaki acted quickly and laid his hands on Lin's shoulders, steadying him. Lin looked in Harasaki's eyes.

"That's not going to happen, Lin. I won't allow it. We're not going to die, I promise you." Harasaki's voice was comforting. Lin slowly raised one of his arms and laid his hand on Harasaki's arm.

"I know you're sad that Izaho…That he didn't make it." Harasaki said slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat at the thought of Izaho. He gazed at Lin strongly, trying to get his point across. "But now is not the time to mourn. Do you think that Gyura or Chisuru don't care? That they aren't affected by his death? I'm sure that inside they're crying for him." Lin looked down again, this time in shame of how he spoke of Gyura before.

Harasaki gave Lin's shoulders a squeeze. "Of course they are sad. But they are focusing to get us all home, without any further loss. They are trying their hardest to survive in this shithole of a dimension." Harasaki's voice was soothing to Lin. Lin knew that what Harasaki was saying was true.

Lin was startled when two other hands were placed on his shoulder. Lin snapped his head to the side and was met by the smiling faces of Gyura and Chisuru, who had overheard the conversation.

"The Lieutenant's right, Lin. Of course we're sad about Izaho. Angry as hell, too. We'd love nothing more than to pound that fucker who killed him into the ground." Gyura said, Chisuru nodding along. "But what we need to focus on now is getting the hell out of here. The Captain's handling everything now. He'll avenge Izaho. But as long as he's not with us we're going to have to be careful."

Lin looked at the ground again. Harasaki and the rest thought that Lin was about to break and were ready to help him, when they were surprised to hear a soft chuckling coming from Lin.

He slowly looked up again, his eyes no longer cold and emotionless. "Damn, Gyura. What Hollow messed with you that you're swearing so much." Lin said with a small smile.

Gyura stared at Lin for a moment, before melting in a big grin. "Not a Hollow. The Lieutenant who condones torture as a medical treatment."

Lin and Chisuru laughed softly, while Harasaki gave Gyura a mock glare, but deep down Harasaki was grateful for Gyura's assistance in getting Lin out of his dark mood.

"Oh ha-ha. I might be your lieutenant, but I'm also your field doctor. So do you mind telling me why yo-" Harasaki was interrupted mid-sentence, when a gigantic BOOM sounded somewhere off in the direction they came from.

The four remaining members of the emergency respond team that was send to Hueco Mundo, buckled their knees. As one they turned towards the explosion and saw a large pillar of green energy shoot into the sky. After a couple of seconds following the blast, they were met with a strong gust of wind that nearly blew them off their feet. Sand trailed after the wind, causing the four Shinigami to cover their eyes with their arms.

"That's the Captain's reiatsu!" Harasaki shouted over the violent wind. He was barely audible over the roaring wind. "Hold on!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "Bakudo #81, Danku!" A blue barrier formed before them, shielding them from the violent wind and ravaging sand. Harasaki looked down and saw that his outfit was slightly sand-blasted.

"What the hell is he doing?" Chisuru asked. "I thought he wasn't allowed to use that?"

Harasaki looked on worriedly. "He isn't. Unless a threat formed itself and he is forced to use it." He said.

"Threat? What threat?" Lin voiced the groups thoughts. He noticed that Harasaki's shield was starting to shimmer. He looked at Harasaki and saw sweat glinting on his forehead. He then started to mumble the incantation of Danku. Once he was finished he replaced Harasaki, who nodded thankfully.

Harasaki took a few moments to catch his breath, keeping up a Danku against such a force was no easy feat. Once he had caught his much needed air he answered Lin's question.

"A threat like a Vasto Lorde." Harasaki said gravely. He then snapped his head to the side, eyes narrowed. "We need to move. I sense multiple reiatsu signatures." He turned back to the rest. "Nothing major, but we're not in a good condition to fight."

The wind had stopped, no longer blasting sand in their faces. With a relieved groan Lin dropped the kido barrier. "Damn, that was tough." He said as he massaged his shoulders. He turned towards Harasaki. "I agree that we should move. But shouldn't we wait for Captain-Hyoto?"

Harasaki shook his head. "I'm sure we can handle a few minor Hollows. But we have no idea how long Captain-Hyoto is going to take. In that time we could draw the attention of an Adjuchas or another Vasto Lorde. Without Captain-Hyoto we would be in a lot of trouble."

"We could hold out for a couple of minutes. And when we sense an Adjuchas coming we leave. As you said, we have no idea how long Captain-Hyoto is going to take, he could be back in five minutes." Lin reasoned.

Harasaki closed his eyes. "I don't want to risk it. Our lives could depend on this decision." He then looked Lin in the eye. "We have to relocate, then we'll see if we can make a stand."

"Uhm…It might be too late for that, Lieutenant." Chisuru said, interrupting Lin when he was about to speak. All present looked at Chisuru, who pointed at the distant horizon. They followed his indication and saw a little tiny spot on the horizon.

"What the hell is that?" Gyura asked. None of them answered. They were all just staring at the tiny spot on the horizon.

"Is it getting closer?" Lin asked. He subconsciously took a step back. True to his words, the blot seemed to get bigger by the second. They all took a couple of steps back.

"It's getting closer fast, very fast." Lin's voice was a little more panicky than it was before. The tiny spot had now grown to the size of a pebble that could fit into your hand. They could see large wings flapping and the pointy end of a tail swinging on the wind.

It was then it released his reiatsu. A terrifyingly massive blast of pure power. They we're blown away at least twenty feet from the sheer force. Harasaki struggled to breath. It was so dense that it forced almost all of the oxygen in the air away. He tried to stand up, but it was like walking underwater, slow and difficult.

He tried to yell at his comrades to run away, but his voice didn't work under the extreme pressure. And to make matters worse, the force grew with every foot that thing got closer.

With great trouble and almost physical pain, Harasaki signed his teammates to retreat by waving his hand. Chisuru and Lin grabbed Gyura, whose faced was scrunched up in pain, and tried desperately to get away. Harasaki managed to shunpo behind them to help them, but they were too late.

The flying creature slammed into the ground behind them with the force of a meteor. The creature's velocity and reiatsu output, which had not lessened, creating so much force and wind that all the sand around it was blown away. Dunes were blasted away, making way for the building sized crater that formed under the creature. All the sand landed miles away, creating small mountain sized heaps. And among all those tons of sand, were four Shinigami, desperately trying to not let their innards be crushed from the blow and keeping their heads above the sand.

Loud natural violence ruled the area, before being silenced by the creature's deafening roar. It sounded monstrous and demonic.

Slowly the sand settled and the wind faded. Harasaki was buried under a small heap of sand and was able to dig himself up, spitting out sand as he went. Apparently, the others were luckier than him, as he found them laying on top one of the small mountains, not far from him.

The almost unbearable pressure the beast had released had vanished, enabling Harasaki to crawl towards his comrades relatively easy. But it still felt like the shockwave from the impact had dislocated every joint in his body.

Lin laid motionless a couple of feet away with his face in the sand, blood slowly soaking into the pale sand. Harasaki crawled towards him, turning him on his back, before frantically looking around. Chisuru and Gyura seemed alive, no doubt shaken and disorientated, but alive.

He then let his eyes fall on the gigantic crater. It was the size of a relatively large clearing, and Harasaki would tumble at least a hundred feet down if he fell, the sand mountains giving the crater extra depth.

Lin started to cough, blood flying from his mouth. Harasaki moved to cover Lin from whatever had slammed into the ground like a meteor.

At first glance it didn't seem to have any form. Just a dark mass of black flesh and bones folded into itself. It was to everyone's shock, when the blob started to unfold. First came the wings, two huge, black wings with a wingspan of at least 40 feet. Black leathery skin coated the appendages. But what made them truly terrifying, was that they had an external layer of bone that ended in wicked looking spikes at the tips. It's whole body seemed to be covered by an external layer of bone, the white contrasting with its black scales. Next came the tail. Black with scales that travelled 50 feet, before ending in a huge spike that almost resembled an arrow head.

The creature rose on its four, scaly paws. Thick and muscular, carrying a huge black body. Scales overlapped eachother, creating an almost impenetrable armor. Large spikes adorned its spine and long neck, sticking out like wicked looking swords. And then Harasaki saw the head. Demonic red slitted eyes with black pupils glaring at them. Two thick horns sprouting from its forehead, before curving backwards. The creature wore a bone-white mask, it was definitely a Hollow. Long rows of razor-sharp fangs decorated its jaws, fangs that could tear through steel. The mask was engraved with intricate swirls that were clearly influenced by tribal markings. The Hollow was truly and utterly terrifying. But what scared Harasaki the most, was that he couldn't sense anything reiatsu coming from it. Not a fraction of spiritual pressure.

The Hollow released a deep, guttural growl. Small flames flickered through its teeth, as if the inside of its mouth was on fire. It stretched its long, snake-like neck, slowly turning its head, which was about the size of a human body, towards Harasaki. Smoke rose up from the flames in its mouth.

Harasaki grabbed Lin and tried to drag him away from the Hollow, but he kept falling down in the sand. And the Hollow easily crossed the distance in long strides. The Hollow advanced on Harasaki and Lin, right until Harasaki could almost kiss it's nose. Harasaki was sweating bullets. The Hollow was way too close for comfort. He could smell it's breath, something akin to burning firewood and charcoal. It kept it's crimson eyes on Harasaki's form for a few minutes, a low growl rising from its throat.

"Shinigami…" It's voice was deep and demonic. Gutteral and primitive, the voice of a dragon. Harasaki's heart was racing a mile a minute, his eyes wide with terror and fear, fear of this horrifying Hollow.

It moved his head away a couple of inches, giving Harasaki a little breathing room. "You smell of Shinigami. Your blood… It has a certain odour." It growled. "What is your name…?"

Harasaki didn't hear any of its words, instead continuing to stare dumbfounded at the Hollow. Something it didn't seem to enjoy.

"Your name!" It snapped, nearly crushing Harasaki and Lin against the sand with his head. This seemed to snap Harasaki out of his fear, if only a little.

"Ha-Harasaki." His voice sounded as if it was made of glass, threatening to break at any moment. The Hollow slowly retracted it's head again, turning it slightly to the side so it could see him better with one of his eyes.

"No last name?" It asked, no trace of the previous anger in it's voice.

Harasaki gulped. "N-No. I didn't have any parents to inherit a name from." He explained. He had no idea why he told the Hollow that. But his instincts screamed at him that if he didn't tell the Hollow everything it wanted to know that he would regret it.

The Dragon-Hollow circled Harasaki and Lin, who were still lying on the ground, Lin shivering slightly. "Why not make your own?" It asked, it's voice not giving away its intentions.

Harasaki made sure to turn with the Hollow, never letting it out of his sight. All his senses screamed danger. He managed to steady his voice a little. "Our society doesn't work that way." He answered curtly. The Hollow 'hmmm-ed' at this.

"Show me your sword." It ordered. It had taken position in front of Harasaki again, sitting on his hind legs, tail curling on the ground and wings folded on its back. It's neck made a S-curve as the Hollow looked down on Harasaki. Harasaki was startled at the Hollow's question.

"Wha-What?" He stammered.

The Hollow narrowed its eyes at him. "All Shinigami wield a sword." It leaned it's head back towards Harasaki, who instinctively leaned back. "Don't play dumb with me" It growled dangerously.

Harasaki started sweating harder at the Hollow's tone. "You want to see my zanpakuto?" He asked unsure. The Hollow released another deep growl, which Harasaki took as a yes.

He slowly stood up, all the while keeping his gaze on the Hollow and making sure not to make any unsuspected movements. He grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto and unsheathed it in a fluent movement and held it up for the Hollow to see. The Hollow leaned towards the sword, sniffing it. It then curled around it, gazing at it with his eyes. It then leaned back again.

"Interesting…" It now turned its attention towards Chisuru and Gyura, who were lying on the ground a little while away. It walked over to them in heavy steps, the ground shaking from its massive weight. It sniffed Gyura.

"You're wounded." It stated.

Gyura didn't react as he was still overcome in pain. Chisuru just stared at the Hollow with wide eyes. Harasaki recovered a little from his lost courage and glared at the Hollow.

"Wh-Who are you?" He asked forcefully. He tried to keep a steady glare going, but it was quickly lost when his eyes reconnected with the Hollow's red ones. Harasaki felt his knees shake from the power the Hollow's eyes held.

"I have many names." The Hollow said. It returned to its position on its hind legs.

Harasaki's throat was completely dry. Every time he swallowed it felt as if he was eating paper or a sponge. He was nervous as hell. When he realised the Hollow wasn't going to say anything else, he decided to inquire a little further.

"Which name do you prefer?" The Hollow inclined it's head, as if he was thinking on what name he actually preferred. It's gaze was no longer directed at Harasaki and Lin, so Harasaki tried to grab Lin and jump down the other side of the sand mountain. But the Hollow wasn't as inattentive as he appeared to be. The Hollow's long, black tail slammed down in front of them, sand flying up from the impact. Harasaki jumped back and immediately found himself face to face with the Hollow, who glared viciously at him.

"Dolemar Vandator." The Hollow now identified as Dolemar said.

Harasaki took a moment to process the Hollow's words. "Wh-What?" He stammered, his nerves and courage on the brink of breaking.

The Hollow turned his head away for the slightest of inches. "My name. I came to this world as Dolemar Vandator." Dolemar growled. The dragon-like Hollow stretched his wings to their furthest reach and rose to its full height, towering over Harasaki's small and timid form. "I am the Terror in the Skies, God of Hollows, The Bone-Dragon! I am the being all Hollows fear!" It bellowed, it's voice echoing over the desert of Hueco Mundo.

Harasaki clamped his hands over his ears, the volume of Dolemar's voice threatening to burst his eardrums. The Hollow's voice was filled to the brim with raw, unadulterated power. And the fact that Harasaki couldn't determine the creature's reiatsu levels, but was still squashed under the extreme pressure, only terrorized him more.

Lin and the rest weren't in a much better state of mind. Gyura was knocked out cold in pain and mental stress from the pressure. Chisuru was in a semi-conscious state, eyes drooping and opening every few seconds while drool drippled down his chin. And Lin? Lin was blasted of the sand mountain, rolling down the slope to the ground a good sixty feet below.

Dolemar let off the pressure. The wild wind that had started forming around the Dragon-Hollow settled down again and silence once again took over. Harasaki could make out a soft, painful grunt from Lin when he hit the ground below.

Harasaki raised his head, eyes wide in fear, and let his eyes connect with the Hollow's. Dolemar met Harasaki's gaze unflinchingly and stepped closer until it's nose was almost touching Harasaki's forehead.

"You tried to run, Shinigami." It growled menacingly. "You tried to run away, like a fool. Where would you run? I will always find you." The Hollow suddenly snapped it's large head back, glancing towards the direction in which Captain-Hyoto was still fighting the Centipede-Hollow.

"I sense someone coming." Dolemar stated. "Someone very strong. It seems he managed to defeat Grande Crassher. Your Captain is very strong, Harasaki." Dolemar's head turned back towards him. "But he will be too late."

Harasaki realized what the Hollow was implying and immediately responded. By racing to his sword, which he had dropped when Dolemar slammed it's tail down, and dodged when one of Dolemar's massive wings soared over his head.

Harasaki rolled to the side to avoid the incoming tail. "Paralyze, Zariji Hijen!" He shouted and his shikai took shape. The zanpakuto expanded into its wider version and started filling with poison. Harasaki cursed. The tube inside it was empty because he had drained it for his operation on Gyura. ' _Now I need to wait for it to fill again!_ ' Harasaki swore like a sailor in his mind.

Dolemar looked at the sword unimpressed. "Fancy sword tricks won't save you, Harasaki." The Hollow growled in its demon voice. Harasaki flinched when Dolemar pronounced his name. It sounded as if Death itself had spoken it.

"Your sword won't hurt me. It won't pierce my flesh. It is useless against me!" Dolemar swept his tail towards Harasaki at speeds which he thought were impossible for such a large body part. He was too late to dodge and was launched like an arrow from a bow, digging a trench in the sand a good while away.

The Dragon-Hollow, the proclaimed ' _God of Hollows_ ' was on him in an instant, moving at speeds which were supposed to be physically impossible for such a large creature.

"You are foolish, Harasaki." Harasaki flinched. "I was going to let you leave. I was merely interested in the intruders of my domain." Dolemar growled. "But you turned your back on me and ran. An insult to my mercy! And then you try and fight!?"

Harasaki couldn't move, Dolemar had him pinned under one of it's thick, heavy legs. The pressure on Harasaki's chest nearly shattered his ribcage. He was gasping as his lungs were compressed.

Dolemar glared at the pinned Shinigami. "Your death would have been painless for that insult. But now you fight back?" Dolemar settled in what Harasaki honestly thought was the most fierce glare he had ever seen.

"You will suffer. I will melt your skin, before shredding whatever is left and burn it." Dolemar snarled. "Or I might let you live. Long enough for you to see your comrades die painfully. One. By. One."

Harasaki could do nothing but stare fearfully at the demonic Hollow. Tears formed by fear threatening to spill from his eyes. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move. He could do nothing but await his fate. Dolemar was about to strike, his pointed tail already poised to spear him, when something impacted the side of Dolemar's head. There was a bright red flash and a shockwave that forced Harasaki's eyes shut. The pressure on his chest lifted and oxygen filled his lungs.

Harasaki made to sit up, which proved to be quite a pain-filled movement, and looked to the side in the direction the explosion came from. He was met by a sight that made him gasp.

Lin, Chisuru and Gyura were line up on a ridge on a nearby dune with their weapons drawn and ready to fight. Gyura had his zanpakuto-transformed gloves on, sparking with energy. Chisuru was spinning his shuriken shikai in his right hand and Lin was twirling his two-bladed spear. All were sporting furious glares, all directed at the Dragon-Hollow.

"You won't get rid of us that easily, Hollow." Lin sneered. The last word full of venom. The others nodded with him.

"Yeah, you mess with one of us, you get the whole team!" Chisuru shouted in agreement.

Harasaki was speechless. ' _You guys…_ ' He thought with a smile on his face. He didn't hesitate to shunpo over and take his place besides them, sword held out in front of him.

Dolemar, whose face was now severely scorched, simply regarded them in silence, giving no indication of being intimidated at all. His eyes gazed at them in a neutral expression. It took a while for the Hollow to respond.

"Your increase in numbers won't make a difference. Your chances of surviving have only decreased." Confusion spread out among the four Shinigami. Something Dolemar picked up on. "Because now," The Dragon-Hollow continued. "I can wipe you all out in one blow." Shock quickly replaced the confusion, as well as realization. Harasaki made to yell at them to run, but the words froze in his mouth. They found themselves unable to move due to the pressure Dolemar was releasing. Wind picked up around the Dragon-Hollow, blowing up the sand in circles. A deep orange coloured ball of reiatsu, crackling with thick, black lightning formed in front of the Hollow's mouth. And with one word, Dolemar wreaked havoc upon the four Shinigami.

" _Cero._ "

…

 **So that's that. A nice little cliff-hanger of sorts. Will they survive or will they be eradicated? Anyhow, there aren't really any stuff that would require a translation. Harasaki's zanpakuto, as well as those of Gyura, Chisuru and Lin, are made up names. To me they sounded cool. The only one that has a real meaning is that of Hyoto, namely Great Destruction (Origin will be explained much, much later). Anyway, please review, that's what I'm here for after all. See you next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 3.5, the other half of chapter 3. Again, the reason I split them up was because it sounded really cool to end it with "Cero", and a cliff-hanger at that. So that left this little 5k part. Basically this finishes up the mission in Hueco Mundo and sets up part of the main story line.**

 **Also, this story has now over a hundred views! Which is totally awesome! :D This shows me some people actually read this, and that's a nice feeling. That people read my work. So I wanted to thank everyone who has been keeping up. And I want to encourage you readers to review. It helps me as a rookie writer. Or if you think I should add something or if I portrait something wrong, let me know, it helps me.**

 **Anyway, keep on reading this and enjoy what I create. Thanks a lot guys!**

 **I don't own bleach**

… **..**

Hyoto was speeding towards the location he last felt Harasaki's reiatsu signature. Trees became a blur as he dashed past them, every now and then jumping from a branch. He was following the direction in which the shadow had flown above him. It wasn't really a shadow, as it was a black figure. It flew so fast that Hyoto could barely make out what it was. The only thing he knew was that it had wings and a tail.

The pressure that surged from the being was absolutely terrifying. Hyoto knew without a doubt that this was the reiatsu source they were looking for, but how the hell they were supposed to eliminate it Hyoto had no idea. The 12th Division's initial thought was that it was some sort of machine. What that kind of machine was doing in Hueco Mundo was up to Hyoto and his squad to find out. It hadn't even occurred to them that it could be a Hollow.

' _The Bone-Dragon._ ' Hyoto thought. He had no idea what to expect. His fight with Grande Crassher was tough, one of the hardest he had ever fought. The Centipede-Hollow was most definitely one of the strongest Hollows the Gotei 13 had ever encountered, Hyoto could vouch for that. But the Bone-Dragon…

' _If the Bone-Dragon instils fear in even Grande Crassher…_ ' Hyoto thought. He hadn't felt the reiatsu of the Bone-Dragon at all until it showed itself. It just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and completely flattened him to the ground. ' _It was as if I was walking underwater with a sack of rocks on my back.'_

Not even the Captain-Commander's reiatsu was so potent. Hyoto himself had experienced something similar when he had lost control of his Bankai and flattened an entire district in the Rukongai. It was what earned him the name of Devil-Captain.

He could only hope that Harasaki and the rest were okay. The Bone-Dragon had flown towards where they were. Hyoto had been unable to get away until the pressure had lifted. Even now something was pushing him back. He could no longer sense the monstrous reiatsu coming from the Bone-Dragon, it's pressure had disappeared just as fast as it had suddenly appeared. But even though he could no longer sense it, there was still something there. As if he was swimming against a stream. ' _Must be remnants of the reiatsu it released._ ' Hyoto thought.

Sand trailed behind him as Hyoto burst through one of the many holes in the desert roof, following him like a meteor's tail. He flashed over the sandy desert world, carving a path through the many dunes and hills. He was getting closer to Harasaki's position. Yet, as he was getting closer, with every metre he travelled, his sense of dread grew. It felt as if the cold hand of death clutched itself around his hart and squeezed tighter every second.

Hollows popped up here and there, drawn to the Shinigami Captain. But Hyoto didn't stray from his path. If a Hollow would block his way it would be removed by a quick, near unperceivable, swing of his sword, disintegrating them into nothingness. "Fucking trash, get out of my way!" Hyoto growled silently, no one there to hear him swear. ' _Please guys, don't do anything foolish…_ ' Hyoto thought, pleading to whatever god was listening.

He just Shunpo-ed over the top of a dune, when he was blasted away by an invisible force. He tumbled over the sand, which didn't soften the blows at all. His vision was obscured by clouds of sand and dust. He felt a singing heat all around him, as if he was standing inside of a blazing oven.

He managed to regain his bearings and flashed out of the sand-cloud, stabilizing himself on the reiatsu in the air a good height above the sand and dust clouds. And he was met by a sight straight from hell. A pillar of fire, larger than any tower in the Seireitei and reaching well up in the atmosphere, was blazing in the horizon. Flames surged around the pillar in a wild whirlpool, destroying whatever there lay in its path. Hyoto was frozen in his place. The power behind the attack flooded his senses, not allowing him to reach out to Harasaki or any of the others.

The explosion settled down, the flames receding and the heat fading. Dust and sand no longer wildly blowing in every direction. Hyoto's hair whipped around his head as the air that was blown away by the explosion settle back in its former place. It was then he noticed he lacked oxygen and started coughing and gasping at the same time. Once he recovered from his fit, he darted for the centre of the explosion, only to find it in complete ruin. A crater the size of a small town had dented the desert deeply. Large parts of sand had been turned to glass from the intense heat and flames, some chunks of the ruined ground were still on fire. Thick, black smoke clouded the area, denying visibility.

"Harasaki! Lin! Gyura! Anyone!" Hyoto desperately called out to his subordinates, listening intently to any responses. But the crackling fire made it almost impossible to hear something. He frantically ran around, digging up sand when he though he saw the black Shinigami robes sticking out of the ground. But it was in vain, there was no visible trace of his subordinates. Hyoto sunk to his knees, tears flowing from his face. He had failed them, he had failed them all. And he couldn't even bring back a body for a funeral. He could feel agony building up in his chest.

"…Cap…" He heard the very faint voice calling out. His head snapped up, looking around so fast his neck was gonna snap. His eyes were wide and focused on his surroundings.

"…tain…" There it was again. Hyoto headed towards where the sound came from. The voice was mangled, barely recognisable. As if the throat of the person was being crushed under a foot. It was filled with pain.

"Harasaki, is that you?" Hyoto called to the voice, trying to detect any sign that confirmed him. "Gyura? Chisuru?" The voice stayed quiet. "Can you hear me? Please, answer me!"

He was walking around the crater, straining his ears to catch another glimpse of the voice. It was proving extremely difficult due to the fire and the smoke. Ambers drifted through the air, singing his eyebrows and lighting his hair on fire. Smoke replaced the oxygen and filled his lungs, causing him to go through extreme coughing fits. And then there were the lingering remains of the Bone-Dragon's reiatsu. It was dense. It caused shivers to go down his spine from just the mere feel of it. It held so much power.

He stood in front of a large pillar of smoke, his eyes trying to glare their way through. He could feel a tiny source of reiatsu coming from behind the smokescreen. It was unrecognizable, it felt mutilated. As if it was stripped from its origin and belonged to nothing.

A strong gust of wind flew down the crater, dissipating the smoke around Hyoto, and revealing what lay behind it. Hyoto was right about the tiny source of reiatsu he felt. How he wished he was wrong. Behind the smoke lay the severely burned body of Harasaki, his Lieutenant. Blisters covered his arms, legs, neck, torso, almost his entire body. It was a sickening sight. Blood flowed from wounds that could barely be recognised, mingling with the various shades Harasaki's body now possessed. Bones were broken, and in some parts melted away. Hyoto felt nausea threatening to overwhelm him, the sight was horrible.

"Harasaki…" Hyoto mumbled, his hand itching to his mouth in order to contain the oncoming bile. He quickly swallowed whatever was trying to force it's way out of his stomach and rushed over towards Harasaki's maimed body.

Harasaki raised his arm, or at least he tried. It quickly fell down again, inciting a pained grunt from the severely wounded Lieutenant. Hyoto didn't know what to do. The shock and reality of the situation was just too much. The shame and the guilt ate away at him. Then, he felt the anger arise. The fury and the rage. The urge to kill whoever did this emerged, and the Captain's reiatsu output surged with his anger.

Hyoto turned his attention back towards Harasaki when he heard him mutter something. Harasaki's face, or at least what Hyoto could recognise, was scrunched up in pain. "Cap… Captain…" Harasaki wheezed.

"What, Harasaki? What is it? I'm here, I'm with you." Hyoto grasped Harasaki's maimed hand, the only one that was left. It felt disgusting. The flesh was merely hanging from the bone, which was clearly visible for Hyoto to see. It took all his strength to not vomit.

Harasaki meant to say something, but the only sound coming from his mouth was a sick gurgling as he choked on his own blood. It was a weird, sickening mix between coughs and gurgles.

"Easy, Harasaki. Don't strain yourself." Hyoto tried to comfort him, and was too occupied with that to notice the looming shadow rising behind him. But while Hyoto didn't notice, Harasaki did. His eyes widening in fear. "Cap… Captain… be…" He tried urgently. But Hyoto didn't notice his tone.

"Calm down, Harasaki, please. You're hurting yourself." Hyoto tried to push Harasaki to lay back down as gently as he could, but Harasaki shook his hand away, which led to a loud wail of pain. Hyoto was startled. "Harasaki, what's wrong?" He asked concerned.

Harasaki tried his hardest to look Hyoto in the eye, but couldn't find the strength to support his head anymore. Hyoto saw what he was trying to do and cupped Harasaki's face so that he could look at him. Harasaki tried to say something again. "Cap… Cap… tain…" Hyoto started to become a little desperate. Harasaki was trying to say something, but couldn't. What if it was his last wish, his last breath, a regret he had that he couldn't resolve. Hyoto shook Harasaki a little. "What Harasaki? What is it?"

Harasaki, for his part, tried his hardest to find his voice. He closed his eyes as he could feel his life slipping away. But he wouldn't let his Captain fight the Bone-Dragon without him warning him. He would be killed for sure, that Hollow's strength was too much, even for him.

Hyoto was ready to cry. Harasaki was in so much pain, yet tried to tell him something anyway. ' _He should just rest and let me get him away from here!_ ' It was then something caught his eye. He noticed earlier the many shadows that danced on the ground from the fires. But he had found Harasaki in a reasonably light area where the shadows didn't reach. ' _Then why is it suddenly so dark…_ '

Hyoto's blood grew cold, realization was slowly sinking in. His muscles tensed, his hand slowly itching towards the hilt of his zanpakuto. When he heard Harasaki's next words, he froze. "Be… behind… you…"

Hyoto now knew what Harasaki had been trying to say, he was warning him for whatever it was behind him. And Hyoto had a pretty good idea what it was. Hyoto slowly stood up, his head hanging down so that his white hair covered his eyes. Then he slowly looked over his shoulder, his face gracing the hardest glare he could muster, his eyes open wide and pupils dilated. The strain on his eyes from the glare caused the veins to pop.

Hyoto shook, his body trembled. Not from fear or terror, but from pure, unadulterated rage. His fury was about to burst, his reiatsu along with it. He was beyond angry, no one, not even his enemies, have seen his as angry as he is now. He was known as a kind and helpful man, one that was always eager to lend a hand. But now? Right now, he was showing exactly what earned him the title of ' _Devil-Captain'_.

He was so consumed in his anger that he didn't notice Harasaki trying to say something again. Hyoto was only interested in slaughtering the creature that stood before him, a gargantuan black dragon with a white, external skeleton covering his form. The horned Hollow mask with two red, piercing eyes glowing from within it's sockets. This was the killer.

The Hollow stood talon it's hind legs, tail sweeping behind him and it's large wings stretched open. It's neck was stretching back in an s-shape, causing the Hollow to look down on Hyoto as if he was a mere bug. There was an amused glint in the Hollow's eyes. For a moment no one spoke, the only sound being the crackling fires that still dotted the crater. Then the Hollow spoke. "Greetings, Shinigami." It growled.

In an instant Hyoto's zanpakuto was unsheathed and being swung towards the Hollow's head, attempting to cleave it right off. However, no matter how fast the swing was, the Dragon-Hollow was faster, it's tail slamming down on the blade and pinning it to the ground.

The Hollow gave what sounded like a cruel laugh. "Quite a temper you have there, Shinigami." It growled. Faster than Hyoto's eyes could follow, the Hollow's tail swung around and swatted him away, knocking the breath out of his lungs as he impacted a dune. Luckily he managed to hold on to is sword so that he could block a strike from the creature's wing.

"Eh? You're quite strong, Shinigami. But I guess it's nothing too special. You're a Captain after all." Hyoto's eyes were wide in shock. The Hollow was extremely fast, something that should be impossible with its size. He was also shocked to hear that the Hollow knew he was a captain. He glared at it. "How do you know that?" Hyoto sneered dangerously.

The Hollow cackled. "Oh, little Harasaki and I had a little chat before. Told me quite a lot. I even got a good look at his sword, what did he call it? Zanpakuto?" It said in it's deep, demonic voice, chuckling slightly. It then sobered up. "But then he did something foolish, and I had too… well, you probably saw already."

Hyoto seethed, that damned Hollow was mocking him. He started to see red, his fury taking control of his body. He started pushing back against the creature's wing. The Hollow had a surprised look, but it was clearly unconcerned. When Hyoto had created enough space in between them he shunpo-ed to the right and tried for a diagonal slash, attempting to slice off on of the Hollow's wings. But in another display of incredible speed, the Hollow shot up into the sky and landed a little further away on the top of a dune. "Ohohoho, Shinigami. You're quite the resistant one, aren't you?" It laughed amusedly. "Do all Shinigami possess impulsiveness?"

Hyoto required all his strength to resist jumping at the Hollow and just pound it into oblivion. For it was right, recklessness would mean hi death. Hyoto knew, deep down, that he would lose this fight. This Hollow was clearly on an entirely different level than Grande Crassher, no, on a different planet. The difference in strength was as clear as night and day. And what was most disturbing was that Hyoto couldn't sense the creature. Something that scared him deeply.

Hyoto grasped the hilt of his zanpakuto tightly with both his hands, keeping it from shaking. He might not be able to beat this Hollow, but he would be damned if he let his fear show.

"Aren't you going to activate your shikai, Shinigami?" The Hollow wondered. "Because I doubt you'd last longer than a second in this form."

And in an instant Hyoto's fear disappeared, as well as any precaution he might've had. All he wanted was to annihilate this Hollow. "Cast the world into oblivion, Kiyohi Kaimetsu!" Hyoto yelled, exploding in bright green reiatsu. Two blue swords constructed from reiatsu appearing in his hands. His shikai was reacting to Hyoto's anger, it seemed more volatile and uncontrolled than usual, flares of spiritual energy shooting off at random intervals.

If the Hollow was impressed it didn't show it, instead it chuckled. "That's quite the flashy release, Shinigami. This ought to be good show." It then crouched down, as if preparing for a jump. "But it's not going to be enough!" It snarled.

Hyoto sneered. 'How dare this monster question my power!' It wasn't exactly Hyoto's mind that was offended. Somewhere deep down in his subconscious a voice seethed, but Hyoto was too overcome in his anger to notice. Hyoto was glaring daggers at the Hollow. He pointed his right sword at it. "What is your name, beast. That I may remember you after your death!" He growled.

The Hollow only looked amused. "You think you can kill me, Shinigami?" It said, before breaking out in a short laughter. "Ah, that was the best joke I've heard in over a century!" It proclaimed. "But you are mistaken, Shinigami. You're power, even after releasing, isn't nearly strong enough for me to even consider you a threat." It growled, adding to Hyoto's fury. "But I shall humour you, Shinigami, and tell you my name." It said after another bout of laughter. "My name is Dolemar Vandator, the same name I told you subordinate."

Hyoto was trying, and failing to contain his anger, as his body shook in rage once more. He then got ready in a fighting stance, swords raised in front of him and his weight resting on his front foot, ready to jump into action. "I see, Dolemar is it? Very well. Then my name is Hyoto Mikadame, Captain of the 6th Division," He then mustered the strongest and most evilest glare he could. ", the name of your slayer!" He snapped, while flaring his reiatsu as far as he could without releasing his Bankai.

Dolemar look on unfazed, clearly not bothered by the reiatsu surge. It was then Hyoto noticed he still couldn't sense the Hollow's reiatsu. He could see it, hear it, but not sense it. It was an unsettling feeling, one that scared him.

Dolemar moved, walking down the dune at a leisurely pace. "You look familiar, Captain Hyoto of the 6th division." It growled, an unreadable expression on its face. "Your reiatsu feels similar…" Hyoto's anger rose to never before experienced levels. He knew what Dolemar was talking about. Said Hollow made a noise of recognition. "Yes… You're just like your father!"

Hyoto lost it, forgetting all about his orders to not release his Bankai, forgetting all about Harasaki who lay not far away, crushed under the pressure. Hyoto screamed, all his rage pouring into his voice. "Bankai!"

A pressure emerged, so great that it surprised even Dolemar, the ' _God of Hollows'_. Great, green flames exploded around Hyoto and covered him from head to toe. The air contorted around him, the reiatsu almost supressing the light from the many fires. The ground below Hyoto dented, cracking the sand which had turned solid from the overwhelming pressure. Winds had picked up, the force of a heavy summer storm raging throughout the crater and beyond. The environment of Hueco Mundo bended towards Hyoto's reiatsu.

Dolemar was surprised, and not in a pleasant way. ' _This force, this pressure. His power is undeniable, he might even be stronger than me… No, his power is immature, it's incomplete._ ' Dolemar thought. The Hollow was unconsciously steadying himself against the sandy ground from the force Hyoto was releasing. When the flames settle in a gentle, green aura and the air was no longer contorting, Dolemar caught a good look at Hyoto's form. He was shirtless, showing his bare chest to the world. The symbol for the number one on his right arm was glowing a vibrant green. One of his blue swords had materialized into actual components, no longer existing out of only reiatsu, while the other had disappeared. But the biggest change was the big, shield-like structure that floated behind him. There was a circle in the middle, connected with a cross. Green beams, glowing with reiatsu curved around the middle circle, dividing the shield into four parts. In those four parts, panes of pure, see-through reiatsu formed a powerful barrier. "First Gate, Gate of Harmony, open." Hyoto said softly, but darkly. "I said it once, Hollow, and I'll say it again, I'm going to slaughter you!" He snarled. "Your death will be painful, expect no mercy from me!"

Dolemar, although startled by the Captain's strength, barely reacted to the jab. Instead he lost all pretences of being amused, now he was becoming annoyed by the Captain's arrogance. "You are strong, Shinigami. I'm not too proud to admit that. But claiming you'll be the one to kill me, is just simply insulting!" Dolemar yelled, flaring his reiatsu until it matched Hyoto's. The force of the Hollow's reiatsu clashing with what Hyoto was emitting. Dolemar kept increasing it, until it overpowered Hyoto.

Hyoto stumbled and fell to his knee, brought out of balance by the sudden surge of reiatsu coming from the Hollow. His eyes widened in disbelief. _'I'm in my First Gate of my Bankai, yet he is still overpowering me? What is this monster!?_ ' Hyoto thought in distraught. Never had he ever met something this strong and powerful, nor could he ever have imagined something this strong lived.

Dolemar glowered at the Shinigami Captain. ' _He is strong, but somehow I think this isn't as strong as he can get. I hope he doesn't feel the need to release further, I'm almost at my max as it is. Still…_ '

"Your arrogance, is aggravating. You might be the strongest Captain in that blasted place you Shinigami call home, but you are in Hueco Mundo now, the place where your nightmares live! And here, in this dimension, I am the strongest! I am the king! I am the God of Hollows, you foolish Shinigami!" Dolemar screamed. He raised his large dragon-mask up into the sky and roared defiantly into the sky, the flames in its mouth roaring to life.

Dolemar turned back to Hyoto, glaring hard. Hyoto, despite his pride, flinched a little. "You Shinigami are always so full off yourself, as if you are the rulers of creation. Yet you know nothing of your roots!" Dolemar growled. "Yet you always blame everything on what you can't understand. Everything that isn't part of your world is suddenly the evil in existence and you exterminate it like we are nothing but insects!"

Hyoto could feel the rising tension and the surging anger that was coursing inside of Dolemar. The Hollow's red eyes started glowing more fiercely, and the flames in his mouth turned darker, as if they were coming from hell itself. If Dolemar didn't look demonic before, he sure did now.

"And now you come here, invading my home, killing any Hollow that shows up in your path. And now, you dare proclaim to kill me, without even knowing who I AM!" Dolemar shouted, anger in his voice.

For some reason Hyoto felt the need to defend himself and his deceased subordinates. "We only attacked what attacked us! We are not like you!" He screamed back at Dolemar.

Dolemar turned absolutely livid. "I didn't attack you! Those Hollows you encountered on your way here didn't attack you! Yet you killed them, without reason!" Dolemar thundered.

"You killed my friends!" Hyoto subtly ignored him killing the Hollows on the way here, since he had no defense for that. But there was no way that Dolemar was justified for killing his friends, not without consequence.

Dolemar bounded for Hyoto, the creature's great speed once again making an appearance. Before Hyoto could even blink Dolemar was standing in front of him, his face almost nose to nose. Hyoto could feel the heat the Hollow was emitting. "Your 'friends' brought upon them their own doom. I merely wanted a conversation, but alas. They insulted me by turning their backs on me and apparently found the need to attack me. It was their own fault." Dolemar growled menacingly.

Hyoto glared at Dolemar. "You honestly expect me to believe that? You must be as stupid as your strong." Hyoto growled right back. He shunpo-ed away and landed somewhere close by Harasaki. Harasaki, seeing that his Captain was back in hearing distance tried to say something, but Hyoto ignored him.

Hyoto jumped back towards Dolemar, trying to deliver a crushing haymaker to the Hollow's face, and thus missed Harasaki muttering, "…Wait… Cap… tain."

Dolemar, initially surprised by the sudden disappearance of Hyoto, and despite having amazing speed, could not dodge the impacting fist of Hyoto and was launched away a good sixty feet, digging a trench through the sand.

Hyoto immediately followed up by bringing his zanpakuto down in a vertical strike, but he was swatted away by the Hollow's wing. He was swatted away like a fly and crashed somewhere in the vast desert. Dolemar raised his tail above his head and charged it's tip with reiatsu. "Bala!" He said. A blast of orange energy that was crackling with black lightning shot towards Hyoto, who had just raised his head from the ground. He saw the incoming attack and reacted instantly. "Bakudo #81, Danku!" The barrier erected just in time for the orange blast to hit it. A large explosion enveloped the area. Dust was blown up and bright, orange flames shot up into the sky.

For a moment nothing happened. Then Hyoto shot out from the dust cloud, blade at the ready. And with a mighty roar he tried to skewer Dolemar, but the large dragon-like Hollow proved it's staggering agility was still too much as he easily dodged Hyoto's attack.

Hyoto, however followed up with a kido attack. "Hado #53, Haien!" The purple kido shot from Hyoto's blade and travelled the distance between the two beings easily. Dolemar saw the blast coming and whipped one of his wings around, deflecting the attack. It exploded and covered Dolemar in a cloud of grey smoke.

Nothing happened for a good three seconds, which Hyoto spend gazing intently at the cloud of smoke. He knew Dolemar was not defeated, and it was proved shortly after as Dolemar created a gust of wind that blew apart the cloud of smoke.

"Give up, Shinigami. You do not possess the necessary strength to defeat me. This battle is pointless." Dolemar growled. "And I do not have the patience and temperament to deal with your foolishness right now."

Hyoto gritted his teeth in anger. "This battle is not pointless! You killed my friends, and now I will kill you!" Hyoto screamed at Dolemar, before pointing his left hand towards the Hollow and opening his palm. "Bakudo #61, Rikujōkōrō!" Six rods of yellow reiatsu slammed into Dolemar, effectively pinning him down. 'What the hell?' was the only thought that went through Dolemar's mind. It was then the Hollow noticed Hyoto shunpo-ing above him. "Hado #63, Raikōhō!" A large bolt of yellow lightning fired from Hyoto's hand and impacted Dolemar's restrained form, lighting the area up in a bright flash.

Hyoto landed on top of a large dune and looked at Dolemar, whom was once again covered in smoke cloud. Hyoto was soon forced to move again however, as several Bala's were shot at a rapid pace, which he managed to dodge but barely. Big, fiery explosions tore apart the desert from where the Bala's impacted. The many blasts had blown the smoke apart and revealed the form of Dolemar, still bound by the six rods, but charging an orange orb crackling with black lightning. ' _Shit!_ ' Hyoto thought panicked.

He heard Dolemar yell, "Cero!" before firing the blast. A big, bright beam of pure reiatsu shot from Dolemar's mouth. Hyoto realised that the Bala's had forced him to move in a line, and that the cero crossed that line, allowing Hyoto almost no possible escape. It made a screeching sound as the beam travelled over the desert, before exploding somewhere over the horizon. It set the background ablaze as flames rose up to touch the sky. Even from that distance Hyoto almost fell over from the shockwave.

Hyoto looked at Dolemar, glaring hard as the Hollow broke the six rods stuck in his body with a mere swing of his wings. Dolemar looked at Hyoto with a dark look. "This is it, Shinigami. I'm ending this now. I can no longer look at you." Dolemar growled.

Hyoto gave a confused look. "What are yo-" He was interrupted as Dolemar shot forward at a dazzling speed and struck him with one of his wings. Hyoto was launched away, flying over many dunes. He by now knew how it felt to hit a hill of sand at a high speed, so he was surprised to feel something different. Before he could crash into the sand he felt another powerful blow against his back, sending him in another direction. He had no idea what was going on, all he felt was pain.

He was then struck from below, sending him skyward. And it was when he was slowing down that he could clearly see Dolemar below him, flying at him at an incredible speed. ' _So that's what happened. He is so fast…_ '

He was brought out of his musings by Dolemar flying past him and wrapping his tail around his neck. The large Dragon-Hollow then angled down and shot towards the ground, big wings flapping, creating an even greater speed. And as the ground grew closer Hyoto could only think about his end. ' _Is this it? I can't break free, and even I won't be able to survive this_ '

Hyoto closed his eyes as he impacted the ground. For a moment he felt nothing and could only hear a loud BOOM! His vision filled up white, before slowly fading to black. He slipped into unconsciousness before the pain hit. Before he could recognise the feeling of Dolemar's tail wrapped around his neck.

Dolemar gazed at Hyoto's broken and unconscious form with a pitiful gaze. ' _Foolish Shinigami, didn't even notice that his subordinates were still alive._ ' He thought, a little angry. ' _Well, they won't be for much longer. And he threw away the chance to save them by attacking me._ ' Dolemar gave a growl, before opening a Garganta. ' _Look at me, helping a Shinigami, tch, pathetic._ ' Dolemar walked into the Garganta, reiatsu spreading out before him like a field. Hyoto still hung from his tail by his neck. Dolemar had a tight grip on him, but not so much to choke him.

' _Bastard's lucky I kept my tail around his neck, would've broken his neck if I didn't. The fucker owes me his life._ ' Dolemar walked for another twenty minutes in silence. When he felt he was in the right spot he opened another entrance, when he looked through he could see the white building of the Soul Society far below him. He brought his tail around so that it was in front of him, allowing him to watch Hyoto's face.

"You are strong, Shinigami. You possess a lot of potential and have the opportunity to utilise it. But you are still young, you have a lot left to experience." Dolemar glanced down towards the Soul Society, seeing many tiny black dots frantically moving around. "Do not waste this second chance at life I've given you, Shinigami. Grow powerful, learn about reality, see how your precious Soul Society really works. Grow stronger, and avenge your comrades when you're at your limit."

Dolemar unwrapped his tail and Hyoto slowly slipped from his grasp, before falling down. "Goodbye, Hyoto Mikadame, Captain of the 6th Division." Dolemar turned back and walked back into the Garganta. "Until we meet again."

… **..**

 **And that's a wrap. Hyoto has been sent back to Soul Society by Dolemar, whom used a Garganta. And for the sake of the story I'm allowing that. Dolemar can use Garganta's. I don't know if that's accurate or not, but in this story it's possible.**

 **A little background on Hyoto's Bankai, although a more descriptive summary will be given later on in the story when it's origins is explained.**

 **Hyoto, while in his Bankai, has access to five gates of power. When each one activates he gets another skill he can use. While he didn't use any in this chapter, he will later on when he fights in the war against Aizen.**

 **So that's about it, I think. Again, my gratitude for 119 views and To CapShadow for reviewing and following this story. You are awesome. So favorite, follow and review and I'll see you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 has arrived. This one is over 10k in length, which I strive to have as my average per chapter. So expect longer chapters from here on out. I tried my best to express Hyoto's feelings on the loss of his teammates in Hueco Mundo and his meeting with Dolemar, the 'God of Hollows.' This chapter barely has any action in it, but I promise I'll make up for it when the war with Aizen arrives.**

 **I don't own bleach**

… **..**

Darkness flashed behind his eyelids. His eyes were closed in a blissful slumber induced by his mind to block out the horrendous memories he sustained. Unconsciousness swarmed him like bees around a flower. Images of his past endeavours flashed before him. Defeated enemies, fallen armies, lost friends. Every picture a bitter reminder of what once was, and what could never be again.

For three days he slumbered. For three days he was disconnected from the present and wading in his past. Moments of darkness he would much rather forget than relive again. After those three days he moved a finger, barely lifting it an inch. But movement nonetheless.

It alerted his surroundings of his long awaited awakening. His hearing was absent and his sight still not regained entirely. He could make out shadowy shapes and faint whispers that spoke words he could not recognise. As he laid on a soft surface that reminded him of feathers, the shapes around him moved and blurred out of existence. The sounds started to grow louder, and more coherent.

"…ake…" "…lert…Cap…mander…". The faint whispers and words spoken by the silhouettes flowed around his head, igniting a stinging buzz right behind his temples. The headache soon grew as he felt a multitude of hands roam around his aching body. Like mosquitoes on a hot summer night, scouring his body for fresh blood rushing through his veins. It annoyed him so. He tried to swat those pesky hands away from him, but his body no longer possessed any strength. Instead he made moaning sounds.

The hands soon stopped their touching when they perceived his annoyed moans. A couple of hands removed themselves, but one pair remained. He made to resist again, but a calming sensation overcame him. It was gentle, flowing through him carefully and soft. As if he found himself in a hot, steaming bath after intense physical exhaustion. It warmed him into the depths of his core. The whispers had died out and the silhouettes were no longer visible. He felt unconsciousness envelop him once more. But not before he heard seven words.

"You are going to be fine, Hyoto."

The voice was angelic and feminine, caring and filled with warmth and love, grace and a softness only a mother or a lover could manage. Hyoto tried so desperately to respond to that voice, to save him from the blackness of his mind that threatened to take hold of him once more. But his body betrayed him, as he was lost to the slumber again.

More time past before his next awakening. How much Hyoto did not know, but when he came to the silhouettes and whispers were gone. It was a lot colder in the room -or whatever it was where he ended up- than last time. He felt a soft, unearthly sensation wash over his face. A soft blowing that made his white hair dance. Another sensation joined the gentle breeze. A hand stroke the top of his head, flattening his dancing hair. The same calming sensation flooded through him.

The angelic voice announced its presence in the form of a soft, gentle humming. It cured his lethargy like no other medicine or drug could ever hope to accomplish. It carried him of the feather-soft surface he still found himself on, and carried him on the wind to pure, white dreams. He was in peace. Calmness, relaxation. His muscles which were trained for battle for many centuries lost their tension. His body felt as if it was the surface of water itself.

A hand settled on the back of his head and lifted it gently. The calm feeling coursing through his body increasing at the touch. His head was put down on a sturdier surface. But it was also soft, reminding him of a person's flesh. There was also a small gap in the surface, as if it was curved.

The hand that was on the back of his head moved to cup his cheek, caressing it like it would break if it was pushed hard enough. The feather-light touch sent tingles down his spine. The hand on his head continued its stroking movement, messing up his hair, as well as smoothing it down. And Hyoto lost himself in the soft singing. The voice sung wishfully about better times, about family and friends, about love and happiness. A world without pain, without suffering, without wounds from which no one can heal.

Hyoto's eyelids fluttered, opening the faintest of centimetres, so that he could only see his whimpers. The owner of the angelic voice noticed however, as the hands shortly stopped their movements, before continuing in their soft caressing.

Hyoto's eyes opened further, allowing more light to flood into his pupils. Too much. Hyoto flinched and quickly snapped his eyes shut again, an ever recognizable headache surfacing again. The angelic voice laughed softly while bringing her hands up to the side of his face. A green glow reached past his eyelids, and the warm, calming sensation increased tenfold.

Hyoto dared his eyes open again, letting them adjust to the light. It was noticeably less bright than it at first seemed. In fact, his entire surroundings seemed dim. His vision was still blurry, but cleared at a rapid pace. He looked to his right and saw th edge of a bed. A white mattress softer than anything he ever had the pleasure of laying himself on. His gaze travelled upwards, to the white walls that embraced the space he was in, the only disturbance being an opened window. Curtains swirled on the wind that blew through, making them perform an intricate dance that no human could ever follow. Below the window stood a small desk covered in lit candles, creating the dim light he noticed before.

He turned his head to the left, only to nuzzle into a fleshy obstacle. He looked upwards and was met by a smiling face belonging to a beautiful woman. Lush black hair sprouted from her head, cascading over her shoulders in twin pig-tails that were braided together over her bountiful chest. Lively blue eyes decorated her face, which was flawless. No birthmarks or faults could be detected. Everything was perfectly regal and proportioned. No queen or princess could match her beauty.

Hyoto blinked the last of his blurry sight away and regarded the black haired beauty above him. "…Unohana…?" His voice was hoarse and parched and sounded as if it hadn't been used in a while. He moved his head around a little, which ignited a soft giggle from Unohana.

Hyoto looked at her confused, before looking where his head was positioned. Which he realised was in Unohana's lap. Hyoto's face took on a pink tinge and he tried to sit up from his embarrassing position. He quickly regretted it however, as a flare of pain arose from his back and travelled up towards his neck.

Unohana giggled at his expression and gently pushed him back into her lap. "Good afternoon, Hyoto-kun."

Hyoto's cheeks grew even pinker at her nickname for him. "Unohana." He groaned. "Why are you here? Where am I?" He asked. Unohana resumed her caressing, to which Hyoto closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling.

"You are in Seireitei. If you want the specifics, you are in my personal quarters." Hyoto's eyes snapped open and he again made to sit up. But Unohana held him back, pushing him down unto _her_ bed. Hyoto made to struggle, but Unohana had a firm grasp on him.

"As for why I'm here, well, I'm taking care of you." She continued.

Hyoto gave up struggling. "But, why am I in your…personal quarters? You could've taken care of me in the 4th Division's barracks."

Unohana smiled her motherly smile. "Well, technically we are in the 4th Division's barracks."

Hyoto sighed. "You know what I mean."

Unohana giggled. "Well, I felt that I could take better care of you in here. Here I can give you my complete attention and care. No other patients or subordinates to bother us or get in the way."

"I think that's neglecting your duties as a medic and as a Captain." Unohana resumed her caressing, something Hyoto did not complain about.

"I healed you, didn't I? How is that neglecting?" Unohana flicked him on the forehead. "Besides, if you didn't get hurt all the time I wouldn't have too." Unohana's smile turned threatening as she glared at him. "What did I tell you about that."

It wasn't really a question as it was a statement. Hyoto looked sheepish, before his eyes widened. "Where is Harasaki!?" He exclaimed in a panic. He jolted from Unohana's lap and into a sitting position, ignoring the pain in his back. "Where's Lin and Gyura and Chisuru!?"

This time Unohana could not stop him from sitting up. Hyoto whipped his head around, desperately searching for any sign of his subordinates. He found none. If he expected them to be in the same room as him he was disappointed. He made to jump of the bed to search for his lost comrades, but stopped when tender arms wrapped around him from behind, embracing him in a warm hug.

"Let me go, Retsu! I need to find them!" Hyoto yelled, struggling against the woman's firm grip. She did not relent and held onto him tightly, as if she were to lose him when she'd let go. Hyoto continued to struggle, but ultimately he seemed to realise he wouldn't be able to find them. His struggling ceased, growing weaker after every passing moment.

Unohana felt his shoulders start to shake, trembling as quiet sobs wrecked him. She couldn't see him crying, but she felt soft drops fall unto her hands. They splashed on her cream-white skin and rolled of her hands to stain the bed's sheets.

She let Hyoto have his moment, letting him cry out all of his grief. She whispered comforting words into his ear, hoping to rob him of his sadness. For a few minutes they sat there, but for either of them it felt as if they had been there for hours on end. The open window letting in cold breezes while the room was lit by the candles and the silver moonlight. The moon was full and large, a humongous disc in the sky that seemed to grieve with Hyoto, basking him in comforting ethereal light.

Hyoto calmed down, the tears no longer streaking over his face and the sobs breaking down into slight shudders. Unohana rested her forehead against his back while rubbing her hands over his chest in a soothing manner. They sat together in the silence of the night.

"Do you remember when we were just children, and you stole Yama-ji's robes?" Unohana spoke, interrupting their silence. "You put them on and gave me and Ukitake-san and Kyoraku-san a whole show, pretending to be the Head-Captain."

Hyoto seemed to perk up at the mention of one of their childhood memories. Yamamoto had chased him all around Seireitei. His thoughts lingered on his long-time friends. He grew up in the Gotei 13, alongside Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku. As well as Unohana. They had many memories like that.

It took a while for Hyoto to respond. "I would've gotten away with it too, if Shunsui hadn't ratted me out."

Unohana chuckled. "It was very entertaining to watch. He couldn't decide who's wrath he would rather face, yours or the Head-Captain's." She said softly, smiling at the memory. "And I also believe Yama-ji bribed him, if only a little."

"Blackmailed is more likely." Hyoto responded, before shifting in Unohana's grasp. He now sat opposite of her, giving her a clear sight of the left side of his face. "Old man Yamamoto made me scrub the floor of the Captain's meeting chamber for three months." Hyoto chuckled. "That was the last prank I ever pulled."

They both shared smiles when they thought about the past together. They smiled when they remembered about all the people they met, all the places they had visited. A peaceful, happy silence settled in the room, only broking by the soft flapping of the curtains.

"I arrived alone, didn't I." It was more of a statement than a question. One Unohana did not want to respond to, but she knew Hyoto deserved to know.

"Yes, you did." She answered. "A strange rip appeared in the sky. It opened up to reveal a hole, or a portal, with a swirling black mass behind it. And even before we could sound the alarm you fell through." She explained, resting her hand on Hyoto's knee. "Luckily Ukitake-san was there to catch you. Otherwise you would've smashed into the 9th Division's barracks."

Hyoto nodded at her recounting of his sudden return to Soul Society. He seemed lost in thoughts again, so he didn't speak for a moment. But when he did, the question that passed his lips startled Unohana.

"You didn't see anyone else? Was I the only one to pass through the portal?"

Unohana blinked, not sure how to answer. "No, we didn't see anyone else. If Harasaki or anyone else made it throu-"

Hyoto gained a pained expression on his face. "I wasn't talking about them. Did you see a Hollow? Or something that could remotely look like it?" He interrupted her mid-sentence. Looking intently into her eyes.

Unohana was a little surprised at his sudden urgent tone. She did not like how he referred to his recently departed comrades. She slowly shook her head, giving Hyoto his response. His face grew sullen at her gesture and he looked down on his lap. Unohana slowly put her hand against his cheek. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

Hyoto raised his head and let his troubled eyes meet her worried blue orbs. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in concern and her lips set in a thin line. He turned his head down again and he could see her concerned gaze from the corner of his eye. He laid his hand on hers, which was still on his cheek, and guided it down in between them, where he held it. Unohana made to say something, but didn't get the chance.

"We crashed somewhere in a desert." Hyoto began. "The portal opened on the other side and spewed us out on a dune." Unohana listened intently to him, but was surprised when he mentioned a desert.

"Hueco Mundo is a desert?" She asked astonished.

Hyoto chuckled at her expression, which ignited a small blush to spread across her cheeks.

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. We never had a real or a reliable source on the environment of Hueco Mundo. Just the many speculations. I'm probably the only Shinigami to venture to Hueco Mundo and make it back out alive." He said "But yes, Hueco Mundo I a desert. It stretched out for miles, even beyond the horizon. Tiny rock-like trees dot the landscape, which shatter if you touch them. Something so fragile in an environment so violent and rough." Hyoto told her.

Unohana listened on in wonder. Such a detailed report about the interior of Hueco Mundo had never existed before. Every expedition there had almost always ended as a disaster. Many Shinigami ended up dead or mentally damaged.

"We were almost immediately targeted by Hollows." Hyoto continued. "They sniffed us out instantly, so we evacuated the area and regrouped a while away. We took position on a rather large dune so we could have a clear view of our surroundings. The only thing we could see were the ghost-white sands of the desert." Hyoto paused for a moment, to see if he still held Unohana's attention. He was glad when he was that he did.

"Then, the craziest thing happened. We started to sink. Or rather, the sand was swallowing us. Suddenly, there was a dull BOOM when the ground gave way and we fell into a large hole." He told, which made Unohana gasp a little.

"We fell a good three-hundred feet into the depths, before hitting the ground." He started playing with Unohana's fingers. "When we looked up, our jaws dropped in shock. Hundreds, if not thousands, of thick, stony pillars. The very tree trunks of the tiny, stone trees in the desert. Where they were barely an inch wide above ground, below they were a solid thirty feet wide." He gestured with his hand to indicate the sizes of the trees. "And the most amazing part, those stone trees were holding up the desert above us. The desert lay above our heads!"

Unohana might've thought he was crazy and had lost his mind if she hadn't known him for well over five-hundred years. "That sounds a little hard to believe."

Hyoto gave her a small smile. "I know. I as there and even I can hardly believe it." He said, before losing his smile as he remembered the less pleasant moments that followed. He continued.

"Those trees stretched out below the desert, for as far as it would travel. It was called 'The Forest of Menos'." Hyoto said, his voice turning monotone as he recalled what happened.

"We were ambushed. An Adjuchas had snuck up on us. He had a small army of Menos Grande at his exposal, around thirty of them. We split up, Harasaki and the rest faced the Menos, while I took down the Adjuchas." Hyoto subconsciously squeezed Unohana's hand tighter. "The Adjuchas surprised me at first. He had something called a hierro what protected it against my blows. I believe it is equivalent to reinforcing your skin with reiatsu."

Unohana's eyes widened at that piece of information. A hollow possessing such a skill was unheard off.

Hyoto didn't notice Unohana's eyes widen, or if he did he didn't mention it. "I defeated it easily after I realised that. When I finished with the Adjuchas I made to regroup with Harasaki and the rest, only to find them having moved away from my battlefield. They had each gone a different direction and drawn the Menos away. It took me a while to find even one of them. I think something interfered with my sensing ability, or maybe it has something to do with Hueco Mundo itself, I don't know."

Hyoto stood up from the bed, moving towards the open window to stare at the peacefully silent grounds of the Seireitei. This time, Unohana did not stop him. She let him escape out of her grasp and chose to gaze at him from behind. His rigid posture indicating that a painful part in his story was about to be revealed.

"I found Izaho and Lin." Hyoto continued. "I was alerted when I sensed Izaho's reiatsu signature flare dangerously high. Something was wrong." Hyoto swallowed the lump in his throat, his stomach churning as he remembered the scene he had found. He looked out into the night sky of the Soul Society.

"Izaho and Lin were ambushed by a Hollow. Izaho took the blow. The Hollow had snapped him in half."

Unohana gasped. She went to reach out to him on instinct, but her mind told her to stop just in time. Somehow, she thought Hyoto wouldn't appreciate the gesture. As the commander of the Medical Division, as well as having decades of experience, his posture screamed instability. He was gripping the window sill tightly, so that his knuckles turned white. Hyoto must be traumatized. Even if he didn't particularly showed it, no one could not have suffered from such a sight. But whatever Hyoto has dealing with, he had to deal with it on his own, it would make him stronger.

Hyoto remained silent for a little while longer, lost in the gruesome thoughts regarding the disastrous outcome of his mission to the land of the Hollows. Unohana was torn. As a medic she knew not to disturb him, but as a friend who cared for him very much, she was straining to not rush over to him and cradle him until he was better. She was very protective over her precious childhood-friends, maybe a little more over Hyoto.

"That Hollow, was unlike any I had ever seen. Stronger than any I had ever fought before. He was worthy of the title 'Vasto Lorde'." Hyoto turned away from the window, now standing in front of Unohana with his face shadowed by his hair.

"It took the form of a gigantic centipede, almost as high as the rock trees that house the desert. And I fought it. I sent Harasaki, Chisuru, Lin and Gyura away, so they would not get caught in the crossfire, and I fought the Hollow." Hyoto's voice was cold and emotionless. "I wanted so bad to just crush it, destroy it and rob it of its existence. Have it crumble under the weight of my power!" Hyoto clenched his fist when he sneered at the end.

Unohana stared at him. Hyoto's voice sounded so hateful. It was an alien sensation to hear that kind of voice coming from his mouth. It unsettled Unohana greatly. Somethings in the entirety of creation were just not meant to be, and Hyoto sounding like a vengeful killer was definitely one of those things.

Hyoto's fist unclenched. "But I remembered where I was, that I was not like that. I fought it in my shikai, but even then it fought back fiercely. It wounded me more than any other Hollow ever could. But in the end I defeated it. Its name was Grande Crassher." Even though Hyoto spoke spitefully about it, the name Grande Crassher was pronounced with grudging respect one might hold for a worthy opponent.

"However," Unohana's attention never wavered. ",the true nightmare arrived shortly after my fight was done." Hyoto said, his voice taking on a sad tone. "We never saw it coming. Neither they or I could sense it approaching until it was already on us. It was a flying creature that soared over the desert. When it flew over me it released a spiritual pressure that flattened me against the ground. It left me dazed and unable to move, unable to rush to Harasaki to aide them."

Unohana's eyes grew fearful. For a creature to exist, which spiritual pressure could immobilize one of the strongest Soul Reaper's to have ever been born. The thought of something like that to exist, was truly terrifying.

"Once I recovered I immediately rushed towards Harasaki and the rest. I had seen the Hollow fly over in their direction. But the moment I set foot in the desert, a monstrous explosion happened, followed by a huge pillar of fire shooting up into the sky." Hyoto raised his head, rage shining in his eyes.

"That Hollow, Grande Crassher warned me about it. Even the Vasto Lorde feared it. It was truly the definition of a monster. A huge, black dragon. With wings as black as the damned night of Hueco Mundo and eyes as red as the fire it spat." Hyoto unconsciously surged his reiatsu. Creating a tiny gust of wind in the room.

"When I got to the epicentre of the explosion, the land was laid to ruin. That part of the desert was completely devastated. In some parts the sand had been turned to glass and many fires scorched the rest. It was there I found Harasaki's body." Hyoto's voice lost the sharp edge of hate it previously held, and was now filled with sadness and regret.

"It was horrible. I can't even describe it. But he was still alive. He had survived that horrendous blast and was still breathing, all be it barely." Hyoto moved back towards the bed and sat down on the edge. Unohana hesitated slightly, but eventually made to set on the edge next to him.

"The Hollow was nowhere to be seen. It had disappeared again, or at least I thought." Hyoto's voice turned hard again. "Harasaki tried to warn me, but in my guilt and disbelief that something like this could happen, I almost ignored him. But the Hollow hadn't disappeared, it had hidden. It appeared behind me, it's shadow looming over me. It was huge, easily thrice the size of Captain-Komamura. I was frozen where I stood, unmoving in front of what would be my greatest enemy yet." Hyoto stared at the window.

"It talked to me, it gave me its name." He went silent for a minute, not making a single sound. Unohana was about to ask him what was wrong, when he continued.

"Dolemar Vandator," Hyoto spoke. ", its name was Dolemar Vandator. And he called himself the 'God of Hollows', which I don't think is an exaggeration." Unohana was unable to determine the emotion in Hyoto's voice. And for the first time since he started explaining, she asked a question.

"Was he really that strong?"

Hyoto looked at her, eyes taking in her form. Her voice sounded weak and unbelieving, unbefitting of such a strong woman. But still, instead of easing her apparent worry, Hyoto decided to tell the truth.

"Yes." He answered curtly. "Yes, he was."

Unohana didn't know how to respond to that. So she simply waited for Hyoto to continue his story.

"I struck him with a Rikujōkōrō in my Bankai and hit him with a Raikōhō, but it still wasn't enough to hurt him. He shrugged of the attacks as if it were mosquito bites. He broke free of the Rikujōkōrō with a flap of his wings." Hyoto told. "After that, he followed with his own attack, a cero. It missed me, but, the explosion that followed knocked me down. It was massive, on par with Yama-ji's firepower. It was terrifying to behold such power in such a creature." Hyoto's voice took on a fearful awe.

"He missed me with the cero, but before I could even react, he came at me with unbelievable speeds for a creature of his size. He completely decimated me with blows that could crumple mountains. He threw me into the air, only to appear above me and slam me back into the ground. And that is the last of what I remember." Hyoto finished his tale.

No one spoke. Unohana was too busy processing Hyoto's tale about his expedition to Hueco Mundo, and Hyoto drowning in his self-pity. Hyoto looked ashamed, something which greatly disturbed Unohana. 'What could he be ashamed for?'

When Hyoto spoke, his voice was barely recognisable. It was so hollow and sorrowful. "I'm a worthless Captain, I can't even protect my subordinates. And I couldn't even avenge them. You must think I'm despicable person." Hyoto's eyes brimmed with tears threatening to spill over his lids. So he was startled when he felt Unohana pull him in sideways hug, cradling his head on her shoulder.

"I would never think of you like that. Nothing you could ever do would make me look at you like that. You are a great man, and a wonderful leader to your subordinates. It's not your fault, Hyoto. You can't save everyone. I'm sure that Harasaki and the rest would gladly lay down their lives for you, or any other Shinigami without a second thought."

"But I didn't want them to!" Hyoto protested. "I never asked them to!"

Unohana shushed him. "But don't you think that's their choice to make? That it is not in their right to make such a decision? After all, it's their lives, their lives belong to only them." She stroked the top of Hyoto's head with her hand.

Hyoto lost himself in Unohana's embrace, just staying silent and finally spilling his tears. With every teardrop his guilt and sorrow depleted. With every drop his anguish about the fates of his friends whom he lost to the 'God of Hollows' and Grande Crassher lessened. Unohana's embrace healed him from the inside.

He remained in her arms for as longs as he thought appropriate, but he lingered a little. Eventually he let go and looked at Unohana, looker her in her blue eyes. "Thank you, Retsu." He said, softly smiling.

Unohana gave him her motherly smile. "No problem, Hyoto-kun. What friend and colleague would I be if I abandoned you in times of emotional distress." She looked at the window, catching a glow shining from outside.

"It seems that the sun has risen, a new day has arrived." Hyoto muttered. "I suppose Head-Captain Yamamoto would want to see me as soon as possible." He made to get out of bed, but Unohana stopped him.

"I told the Head-Captain that you would see him as soon as I deemed you medically stable. I can hold you here as long as I want." She said, grasping his arm.

Hyoto smiled at her, and Unohana blushed. It was that small smile filled with happiness that only Hyoto could manage. "It's all right, Retsu. I am fine. Besides, I need to warn my fellow Captains about Dolemar. If they ever were to cross paths with the 'God of Hollows' they need to know everything about him."

Unohana relented. She wouldn't be able to stop him. Well, she could, but Hyoto's words held logic. She wouldn't want any other Captains dying by that Hollow's hand. "Fine, but you're staying in my presence at all times. If your wounds open up I need access immediately." Hyoto made to protest, but quickly swallowed his retort when Unohana smile her 'Demon Smile'.

"Eh, s-sure." He stammered, sheepishly rubbing the back of head. Warm, orange light seeped into the room, igniting the white walls a flaming orange and red, with a little yellow mixed in. Birds sung, their songs echoing over the silent streets of the Seireitei and the entirety of Soul Society. As the two Captains made their way across the halls, towards the Captains meeting hall, where they were sure to find the Captain-Commander. They were greeted by the sight of flowers blooming. Trees were full and lush and the sakura trees were shedding their pink petals on the wind.

Hyoto and Unohana strode through the empty halls alongside eachother, Hyoto listening carefully to Unohana's stories about what happened while he was gone. Mostly about the exploits of Kyoraku. He had tried flirting with Captain-Yoruichi and was brutally beaten, but was healed the morning after.

Hyoto was laughing, that was exactly something he could picture Yoruichi doing. "Oh man, I can totally see that happening!" Hyoto chuckled. "But I would've thought Shunsui would have learned by now."

Unohana giggled. "You know him, he's not that smart when it comes to the fairer sex." Unohana said with a smile. Hyoto merely snorted at that. Unohana glanced to the side with an eyebrow raised. "Is something funny?"

Hyoto snickered. "Fairer sex my ass. Some of the most violent people I know are women. There's nothing fair about them." He said.

Unohana had already raised her arm to strike the male next to her in the name of womanhood, but she was interrupted by a messenger from the 1st Division.

"Captain-Mikadame, Captain-Unohana! An emergency Captains meeting has been issued! Report in the conference hall immediately!" The messenger practically screamed at them. In the background they heard the alarm go off.

"What!?" Hyoto said. "Why? What happened!" The messenger gave Hyoto an apologetic look. "I don't know, sir. I was only instructed to inform you of the meeting, not what it was about."

Unohana looked alarmed. She and Hyoto shared a look and immediately flashed towards the meeting room, flash-stepping the rest of the way. They sped through the halls, narrowly avoiding other Shinigami. They rounded several corners. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Hyoto asked Unohana.

Unohana blushed. "No, I don't. I kind of stayed by your side ever since you came back." She confessed. Hyoto looked at her with a raised eyebrow. But before he could give a response, they ran into another Captain.

They both looked surprised when they saw Soi Fon rushing through the halls. She gave them a startled look and stopped just in time to not run into them. "Captains Hyoto and Unohana, my apologies, I did not see you coming." Soi Fon apologised with a small bow of her head. "Although it is good to see you in good health, Captain-Hyoto."

"Soi Fon-san." Both Hyoto and Unohana returned her greeting. "Thank you, Soi Fon-san, your concern is appreciated." Hyoto thanked his fellow Shinigami's kindness. He then looked her in the eye. "Do you know what's going on, Soi Fon?"

She gained a certain look in her eye. She shook her head. "No, I don't know. Although I can take a guess what is about." She said rather coldly.

Hyoto raised an eyebrow at her. "Is something bothering you, Soi Fon?" He chose to use her name without honorifics. His concern overruling protocol.

"I am fine, I assure you. It's just…" Soi Fon took a deep breath. "It's just… I have this gut feeling that it has something to do with that bastard Urahara. He and Yoruichi-sama are almost always together, and I haven't seen Yoruichi-sama since yesterday morning! I'm sure it has something to do with him!" Soi Fon took on quite a rant. But Hyoto interrupted her.

"Calm down, Soi Fon. Captain-Yoruichi can take care of herself. I've known her for well over a century and never has she shown any signs of distress when faced with difficult situations." He tried to calm down the frantic 2nd Division member. However, he narrowed his eyes at the distrust she seemed to hold for the 12th Division Captain.

"We should get moving, Hyoto-kun." Unohana interjected. "We wouldn't want to miss the meeting."

Hyoto looked at her. "You're right, Unohana-san. We should make way." He glanced back to Soi Fon. "You should come with us, Soi Fon-san. That way you can discuss your matter with the Lieutenants. And if we happen to learn something about Captain-Yoruichi, we'll be sure to let you know."

Soi Fon looked surprised, but her face quickly shifted into a thankful expression. "Thank you, Captain Hyoto. I would like that." She bowed her head in thanks.

The three of them sped off and made it to the conference hall swiftly. The thick, wooden doors loomed over them, the sun shining on it relentlessly. The wood had begun to peel off, leaving the dark wood damaged.

But something was wrong. The doors were closed and all the Captains and the Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 were standing in front of the doors. Hyoto could see Shunsui Kyoraku and Juushiro Ukitake, his oldest friends, standing among them. He also saw Sasakibe, the Lieutenant of the 1st Division standing among the masses. Glimpses of Harasaki's face flashed through his mind as he approached the Shinigami group.

Everyone stopped talking when they saw Hyoto approach. A deathly silence ensued as they regarded one of the strongest Captains to have ever lived approach them after having fallen from the sky through a portal, not even twenty-four hours ago. The silence was broken when Shunsui and Juushiro rushed through the crowd and approached their childhood friend.

"Hyoto-san! Are you alright? Should you be out of bed?" Juushiro instantly fired of questions about his health. Kyoraku sweat dropped. "Maa, maa, Juushiro. I'm sure Retsu-san wouldn't have let him leave his bed if he wasn't alright." Shunsui raised his hands in a calming gesture, before turning to Hyoto.

"But, you are okay right, Hyoto-san?"

Hyoto looked at them amused, before smiling. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Nothing wrong with me, Retsu-san healed me up nicely." He said, smiling at Unohana, who blushed a little. Hyoto soon turned serious again. "Thank you, by the way, Juushiro. For catching me. But what I really want to know is, is everything here alright? What's all this fuss about?" He said, while watching Soi Fon set off towards the Lieutenants, starting her questioning regarding her precious Yoruichi-sama.

Ukitake smiled kindly at Hyoto. "You're welcome, Hyoto-kun. And I'm not sure." Ukitake said. "We did get a report about spiritual fluctuations somewhere in a distant Rukongai district. We have sent a response unit to the location, but they haven't returned yet."

Hyoto frowned. "Who were a part of the unit?"

This time it was Shunsui who answered. "Captains Urahara, Shinji, Rojuuro, Kensei and Captain Tessai from the Kido Corps. Accompanying them were Lieutenants Hiyori, Aikawa, Mashiro and Yadoumaru." He said with what Hyoto recognized as a worried tone, something very few people could pick up on. He was obviously worried about his Lieutenant, Lisa Yadoumaru.

Hyoto raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a large, and powerful, response team to something as minor as spiritual fluctuations." Hyoto said. "There has to be something more to it for the Captain-Commander to agree to such a strike force." Hyoto was raised by the man. And he knew that Yamamoto would never send out so many Captains and Lieutenants unless he believed it necessary.

"That's because there is something more to it." Ginrei Kuchiki, grandfather of Byakuya Kuchiki, said as he walked towards the group of four. His silver hair was held in the same hair-piece worn by his grandson. He was wearing his formal Shinigami robes, including his Captain's haori.

"Ginrei-sama," Hyoto exclaimed startled. "What are you doing here? I thought you had retired yourself from the Gotei 13 and was spending the rest of your days in the Kuchiki manor?"

Ginrei gave a tired sigh. He respected Hyoto, as far as the pride of a Kuchiki would allow. He thought Hyoto was the ideal Shinigami, kind but just, calm but vengeful. "I _was_ spending my days in the Kuchiki manor. I was contently observing my garden, silently basking in its serenity. When a messenger issued me here. He told me to don my former clothing, so I did." The old man laced his voice with annoyance.

"But now that I'm here, it appears something possibly disastrous is about to be revealed. Otherwise, Yamamoto wouldn't have called us all here, to gather in front of closed gates. He wouldn't have recalled an old man from his retirement, if his aid was not absolutely necessary." Ginrei closed his eyes, his professionalism once again surfacing. Decades, centuries of memories and experiences as a Shinigami settled on his face, truly displaying his age.

"It appears to have something to do with the missing Captains." A new voice made itself known. Hyoto turned around and came face to face with his Third-Seat, Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Byakuya? What are you doing here?" Hyoto asked, his eyebrow raised at the youngling. Byakuya had an unreadable expression on his face. His features were set tight, as if he was continuously clutching his jaw. His eyes shone hard, but held neither coldness or warmth.

"I came to find you, Captain." Byakuya said after a while. "I haven't had the opportunity to speak with you, since you came back." Hyoto could tell his words were coming out with difficulty.

"I wanted to ask you directly," He continued. "But you hadn't woken yet. And Captain-Unohana wouldn't allow me near you." Hyoto glared at Unohana when he heard that, but she merely turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.

Byakuya bit his lip. He hesitated, it was as clear as day that he struggled to make up his mind. Ginrei had enough. "For Kami's sake, boy. Speak your mind." He scolded.

Byakuya looked Hyoto right in the eye, sadness shining through. "Is… Is H-Harasaki really… really…" Byakuya gulped, unable to force out the rest. But Hyoto knew what he wanted to ask. And he too, felt the sadness and the guilt resurface. The shame of abandoning his comrades, the unbearable sin of failing to help his friends when they needed him the most.

"Yes, Byakuya. They're dead." Even Hyoto himself was surprised at the coldness of his voice. His eyes were trained on the ground, so he couldn't see Ukitake, Shunsui and Unohana give him worried glances, this new Hyoto was completely alien to them. Ginrei simply looked on with an understanding gaze. He himself had lost many comrades and friends amongst the ages.

Byakuya looked torn. His eyes, for a second, showed shock, disbelief. Hyoto knew, deep down, he had lost a little faith. But he understood. Who would trust a man who had let his friends die. No one.

Byakuya opened his mouth to speak. But he never got the chance as the thick wooden doors opened with a loud, crunching sound. The voice of age-old wood speaking up for the first time in a long while. The doors were barely used since they always stood open. In the entrance, a couple of feet higher than the gathered crowd, stood the Captain-Commander, Genryusai Yamamoto.

He stood there, his cane planted firmly into the ground in front of him, power radiating of his very being. Easily dwarfing those of the gathered Shinigami. Except one, his 'unofficially adopted' son. Hyoto looked on towards his father figure, The one who raised him after his biological father died. By the hands of the 'God of Hollows'.

Yamamoto slammed his cane down to silence the crowd, which was slightly unnecessary since the crowd had already been silence by the loud opening of the doors. Yamamoto's voice was strong and carried a certain authority that was unquestionable.

"Gathered Shinigami of the Gotei 13." Yamamoto began with a booming voice. "I have called for you in urgency, to discuss a matter of great importance. We are faced with a threat we have never faced before. And I want it dealt with swiftly." And with that he walked back into the conference hall, the crowd following him in deathly silence.

In under three minutes the Captains had positioned themselves in two neat, parallel lines, their Lieutenants standing behind them. All the Captains, minus those absent, stared at the walls opposite them with extreme neutralism. They waited for Yamamoto to take his seat at the end of the two lines. Yamamoto strode past the aligned Captains in a brisk pace, settling down on his cushion.

He wasted no time speaking. "There are three matters we will discuss right now. One, is Captain Hyoto's return, and what has transpired on his mission. Second, is the emergency which has issued this meeting. And lastly, is an adjustment I wish to make to the Gotei 13." He announced with complete authority. All the Captains bore surprised faces, some even breaking protocol and looking directly at Yamamoto, but if he noticed, he didn't seem to care.

"Well then, Captain Hyoto," Yamamoto continued. "Enlighten us on your experiences." The Captain-Commander ordered.

Hyoto could feel every eye in the room fixated on him, penetrating him into the depths of his soul. Different emotions hid behind every gaze, curiosity, pity, worry. All those emotions mixed together and formed a riptide that seemed to draw Hyoto in only deeper and deeper. His throat became uncomfortably dry and hoarse, and it took a minute for him to find his voice.

Two minutes had passed now. Two minutes which Hyoto used to formulate his words and think on how he was to tell his story. Two minutes in which he felt the curious and pitiful stares of his fellow Shinigami. It was almost unbearable. But Hyoto had enough of those pitiful stares. They irritated his very being, he was agitated enough after losing his friends. It filled him with anger, anger at those pitiful and worried stares, fury at himself for failing his subordinates and rage at the Hollow whom took them from him, the 'God of Hollows'.

So Hyoto pushed away his nervousness under the stares and straightened his back. He held his head high and gaze steel. He looked Yamamoto right in the eye, not defiant but determined. To show that his words held no lies, that all he spoke was the absolute truth.

Because there was no way they were going to believe him.

He started from the beginning, right before they jumped through the Senkeimon. He told of the black nothingness they travelled through, before bursting through at the other end of the tunnel, in Hueco Mundo. He told them about the desert and the dunes, about the vileness of the air and the eternal night. He spoke of the gigantic rock trees that spread for miles and miles under the desert. He told them about the Adjuchas that had ambushed them and the many Menos that followed it. He told them about the large battle that had taken place, the destruction it caused and the wounds they suffered. When he came to the part of Grande Crassher, he spoke with the respect the Hollow's power deserved and he could feel the seeds of fear take hold. He had kept his promise to the Hollow.

He spoke of Dolemar, the 'God of Hollows', the source of the reiatsu spike they had registered. He spoke of his overwhelming power, over how the Hollow had killed his comrades in a blink of an eye, brutally mutilated and burned into unrecognisable human forms. He spoke of the explosion he witnessed, and the destructive power it held. He told them about the Hollow's words. But what he didn't tell them was what he discovered about his past. That his father was killed by the strongest Hollow the Gotei 13 has ever encountered. He would discuss that with Yamamoto in private.

When he was done absolute silence ruled the conference hall. All the Captains and Lieutenants stood frozen in shock and disbelief. All but Unohana, who had heard the story before. They all looked at him as if they were expecting to start jumping around and telling them it was just a stupid joke. But not once in his explanation had he broken eye-contact with Yamamoto, not once did his voice waver to betray untruthfulness. The seeds of fear started to grow.

"This is what happened?" Yamamoto asked, although it was more of a statement, as even his eyes couldn't betray the small amount of fear he felt.

Hyoto nodded. "That is as far as I can remember. After that, my memory is black and void."

Yamamoto closed his eyes. "For such a creature to exist. And right under our noses." He said softly. His words, unfortunately, were not as soft as he had hoped them to be, as a Shinigami Hyoto had never seen before stepped forward.

"Captain-Commander! You can't honestly believe that!" The Shinigami exclaimed. "There's no way such a Hollow could possibly exist. It's just impossible!"

Yamamoto regarded the Shinigami with a neutral expression. "Are you calling Captain Hyoto a liar, Komamura-san?" He said in a calm voice, but those who had spent well over seven-hundred years in his presence heard the underlying tint of anger.

The Shinigami now identified as Komamura took a startled step back. "N-No sir! I-It's just, I think it's preposterous to assume something like that exists!" Hyoto looked at Komamura with a steely gaze that slowly shifted into one filled with anger. Komamura was a giant of a man, with shoulder guards and a large, bucket-like helm protecting his head. He wore gloves with vambraces and reinforced boots. But something was off about him. His reiatsu didn't feel human, it felt beastly.

"Then, are you saying that what I saw was false?" Hyoto asked coolly. "That I was somehow influenced in my ability to see things clearly? Because that would imply that I am a liability to my duties."

Komamura turned his massive head towards Hyoto, the helm making it impossible to determine his expression. "All I'm saying is that perhaps you were under some effect of the foreign environment, and were thus influenced into seeing things that weren't there. Maybe you were infected with some kind of hallucinogen."

Hyoto was about to protest, when he was interrupted by Unohana. "While it is possible for him to have been poisoned of sorts," Komamura nodded rapidly. ", However, when I examined Hyoto I found nothing that could indicate such an effect. While there were some traces of a paralyzing substance, the components itself had no hallucinogenic effect whatsoever." Unohana defended Hyoto. "And it would have been impossible. The dose required to even surpass Captain Hyoto's natural reiatsu resistance is enormous. And even if it was administered in the correct quantities, it would not even last three hours, perhaps even less than two."

"How can you explain a Hollow like that existing then!?" Komamura cried. "It is impossible for such a being to exist. It is the stuff of nightmares, and thus it is an illusion. I refuse to believe that there is something that is stronger than the Captain-Commander. It is simply unheard of, and is thus not possible!" Komamura crossed his arms and prepared to yell out more nonsense. But Yamamoto's cane slammed into the ground, silencing him.

"That is enough, Komamura-san." Yamamoto said strongly. "It is indeed hard to believe something like that exists." Yamamoto closed his eyes, which he had opened when he slammed his cane. "However, I will not exclude the possibility merely on the believe I hold in my own power. That is vane and arrogant, unless you attribute those qualities onto me, Komamura-san."

Komamura suddenly felt cornered. "N-No! Of course not sir, I would never call you arrogant or vane!" He stammered.

"It is indeed hard to believe Captain Hyoto's words, but I trust him. He has time and time again proven himself, always holding truth to his words. That's why I will believe him when he says the God of Hollows has earned its title." Yamamoto stated. "But right now, that's the least of our concerns. If Dolemar, as Hyoto called him, had planned to harm the Soul Society he would've had his chance when he opened the portal to the Soul Society. But since he didn't, we can only assume he doesn't hold interest for us." Yamamoto said.

At that most the Captains looked relieved. It would be a long time until they would have to face the God of Hollows.

"Then it is now time for the matter which has initiated this meeting." Yamamoto continued. "Exactly ten hours ago, we got a notion about disturbances in one of the furthest districts of the Rukongai, this occurred after you left, Captain Hyoto." Hyoto nodded at the Captain-Commander. "To investigate this, we sent a response unit consisting out of five Captains and five Lieutenants. We had instructed them to investigate and report back if they found anything. This shouldn't have taken more than two or three hours, but we haven't received any word yet." Yamamoto explained.

"Until now." When Yamamoto said this, the Captains who hadn't already broken protocol by looking at the Captain-Commander broke it right then. "Less than an hour ago, we received word from Lieutenant Aizen Sousuke. He went after his Captain when he grew worried after not hearing from him. He followed them to the spot where the disturbances took place, and found them."

The Captains looked confused. If Aizen had found them, then what was the problem? Hyoto got a nasty feeling in his gut. One that would remain whenever his would catch a glimpse of Aizen.

"Lieutenant Aizen found them. He found them dead." Yamamoto said darkly. At this many Captains reacted astonished. They released cries that voiced their disbelief and demands for proof.

Yamamoto slammed his cane down again. "Lieutenant Aizen discovered them dead, and they had been turned into Hollows." Deathly silence ensued, along with widened eyes and shocked gasps. Yamamoto continued. "Lieutenant Aizen had previously expressed his concerns regarding Captain Urahara and his experiments. He has revealed to me his desires to blur the borders between Hollows and Shinigami. Something which he has now accomplished." Hyoto's eyes widened even further. 'Yama-ji can't be implying what I think he is implying!'

"Captain Urahara has been found guilty of treason and unauthorised experiments!" Yamamoto said strongly, ignoring the shocked protests of the Captains, especially those who were friends with Urahara, such as Hyoto, Ukitake and Shunsui. However, Urahara wasn't very loved among the other Captains, who voiced their agreement.

"Captain Urahara has fled the Soul Society, alongside Captains Shihōin and Tessai. They have been declared fugitives and are exiled from the Gotei 13. If any Shinigami is to cross paths with them, they are authorised to kill or capture them!" Yamamoto spoke over the noise the other Captains made.

"Captain-Commander, that is ridiculous! Kisuke would never do that!" Hyoto yelled. "On what do you base this decision!?"

Yamamoto locked angry eyes with Hyoto. "Lieutenant Aizen has given his witness statement, alongside two other Shinigami. And evidence of illegal experiments has been found in Captain Urahara's laboratory, providing enough evidence to sustain this decision." Yamamoto said coldly.

"But Yama-ji,-!"

Yamamoto slammed his cane down so hard, the floor cracked and splintered. "Enough! The decision has been made and that's final! Now everyone, be silent! We're not done yet!"

All the protests and agreements stopped short. Yamamoto sighed. "Now that that's over and done with, I would like to move on to the next matter of importance. This decision was made after long and painful debating with the Central 46. And I, along with those nobles," Yamamoto spat nobles. ", Have decided to add another Special Forces Division to the Gotei 13, that will work alongside the Onmitsūkido." Shocked murmurs echoed through the hall, and Hyoto had a strange sense of foreboding.

Yamamoto cleared his throat in order to issue silence. "The one to lead this Division, will be…" Hyoto's sense started to tingle. 'I'm not going to like this.'

"… Captain Hyoto Mikadame."

Hyoto let out a cry of indignation. "What!? I will lead what?" Hyoto exclaimed. "No way, I refuse! I will not leave the 6th Division!" He called out defiantly. Byakuya looked even more torn at the prospect of losing his Captain.

"I'm sorry, my boy. But I'm afraid you don't get a say in this." Yamamoto apologized. Hyoto was at a loss for words. He had only recently lost five subordinates, now he was going to lose his entire Division. Shunsui and Ukitake spoke up, sensing their friend's distress.

"What brought this on, Yama-ji?" Shunsui asked. He had stepped from the line to get a more direct line of sight at Yamamoto.

Yamamoto merely closed his eyes sadly. "This is a matter that has been in circulation for a long time." He began, and everyone silenced in order to listen. "The Central 46… don't trust Hyoto. Or rather, don't trust his powers." Yamamoto said. Hyoto was deeply insulted.

"They dare question my integrity!?" He yelled.

Yamamoto raised his hand to silence him. "They fear your power will grow unstable. And will thus threaten Soul Society. Their original plan was to extract Hyoto from the Shinigami system altogether and have him monitored in a special compound where they can keep an eye on him."

Hyoto was flabbergasted. He was at a loss for words. His jaw dropped and made spluttering sounds, making him look like a goldfish on dry land. He could not believe what the Central 46 was planning to do to him. 'Those ignorant old bastards!'

"I, however, managed to prevent this. But I'm afraid they have left me no choice. If they can't stop Hyoto from joining the Gotei 13, they can prevent any Shinigami to associate with him." Yamamoto said darkly.

"This new Special Forces Division will be named as the 14th Division. It will be an unofficial addition to the Gotei 13, not existing on paper and only active in times of great calamity." Yamamoto explained. Hyoto realised something. He was doomed to this, nothing would get him out of this predicament. But if the 14th Division didn't exist on paper, he wasn't liable to funds… He would get no money from the Central 46, so he would have to pay everything from his own pockets! Hyoto cursed the government body many times, with many horrendous curses.

"That said, there are now several positions left unattended. They will need to be filled up. As of now, I pronounce the new Captain of the 8th Division, Saijin Komamura." Komamura stepped forward and accepted the Captain's haori presented to him by Sasakibe.

Yamamoto continued naming Captains. For the 5th Division Aizen became Captain, taking after his deceased Captain. For the 3rd Division came a silver haired Shinigami physically barely over the age of sixteen. Apparently he had been resent with Aizen when he discovered Urahara's 'betrayal'. The 9th Division was taken by Kaname Tōsen, a dark, blind man who was also present at the betrayal and was close friends with Komamura. The 12th Division would be taken over by the lead scientist appointed by Urahara himself, a blue-haired madman.

"I name Byakuya Kuchiki as Captain of the 6th Division." Yamamoto said while locking eyes with Hyoto. Hyoto understood what he wanted from him, his consent. Hyoto nodded at Yamamoto.

Byakuya was speechless. "W-What?" He stammered

Yamamoto fixed him with a steely gaze. "I myself and your Captain both think you are more than qualified for the position of Captain. We are aware of your Bankai, which you have discovered little over three months ago. In that time, three Captains have witnessed it. This is more than enough for a qualification. Do you accept?"

Byakuya looked at Hyoto for confirmation, who nodded encouragingly. Byakuya turned back to the Captain-Commander. "I-I a-accept!" He said strongly. He walked forward and accepted the Captain's haori with the kanji for the number six on the back.

So it continued. Various new Captains and Lieutenants were appointed. The hall was silent, until Yamamoto broke it. "If someone has anything else to add…?" He waited for someone to speak up, but no one did. "Very well, this meeting is adjourned."

For a long time Hyoto remained unmoving, taking in everything that transpired, while the other Captains and Lieutenants flooded out of the door, until only four remained, Shunsui, Ukitake, Unohana and Byakuya.

Byakuya was the first to approach him. He wore an uncertain expression. No doubt he was scared of being a Captain while he felt he wasn't ready for it. He came closer. "C-Captain." He stuttered.

"Congratulations Byakuya-kun." Hyoto said in a fatherly voice. "You deserve the position more than anyone."

Byakuya looked flattered, but it was quickly replaced with that uncertainty. "Thank you, Captain. But I don't think I'm ready." He said quietly.

Hyoto shook his head at him. Byakuya looked hurt as he thought Hyoto agreed with him. That was quickly replaced with shock when Hyoto spoke. "Of course you are ready. You are the most organized and strategically effective Shinigami in the entire 6th Division. It was the whole reason you were the Third-Seat. In fact, I was looking to recommend you as a Lieutenant." Hyoto chuckled.

"You'll be the best Captain the 6th Division has had." Hyoto told him. "And I'm sure you'll make me proud, as well as your grandfather." Byakuya smiled at Hyoto, determination replacing the uncertainty. "Thank you, Captain" Byakuya said warmly. Hyoto responded by pulling the newly appointed Captain into a warm hug.

When they released eachother, Byakuya shunpo-ed towards the 6th Division barracks to spread the news, leaving Hyoto with is childhood friends. And unlike where Byakuya wore an expression of doubt, they wore one of concern.

Ukitake put his hand on Hyoto's shoulder. "Are you alright, Hyoto?" He asked in a soft voice. "Don't hold in just because we are here."

Hyoto shrugged of Juushiro's hand. "I'm fine, Juushiro. Just tired and… confused." Hyoto said sullenly. "I just want to be alone right now. So, if you'll excuse me." He made to walk away, but Unohana stopped him.

"Hyoto-kun, it's not healthy to hold in mental stress. It could cause great strain on your brain." She said in her motherly concerned voice. "Please, Hyoto. Come with me." She pleaded.

Hyoto had his back turned to them, so they couldn't see his face. "Retsu," He spoke in a cold tone, one that made her flinch. "I really, really, want to be alone right now. I appreciate your concern, but it is not needed now." He paused for a moment. "I'll be alright." He shunpo-ed away.

Unohana clasped her hands in front of her heart. Worry and concern flooded her mind and she wanted nothing more than to go after Hyoto and soothe his pain. So much has happened today, so much has irreversibly changed his future. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Retsu-san." Shunsui spoke in his laid back voice. "He'll be alright, he said so himself." He smiled at her. "Let's put our faith in him, and he'll come back around eventually."

"Shunsui is right." Ukitake piped in. "Hyoto's strong, not only physically but also mentally. His will is as strong and unbreakable as steel. He will pull himself out of this state in no time." He said with a fond smile.

Unohana just sighed sadly. "I know, I know." She scowled. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." She walked towards the big wooden doors. "I'll be taking care of my patients if you need me."

Kyoraku and Ukitake were the last remaining Shinigami in the conference hall. They stood together in silence for a few moments, before Kyoraku broke it. "I sure hope Hyoto pulls himself together soon, otherwise Retsu-san will get cranky." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "And it didn't end well the last time she was cranky." Ukitake could only nod in agreement.

"Come on, let's have some tea and reminisce on all that we've learned today." Ukitake proposed, and walked out of the conference hall.

"I hear ya." Kyoraku said, and followed his friend out of the hall.

Elsewhere, deep in the Rukongai, Hyoto walked through the miserable streets of district seventy-nine. One of the more poorer districts. He saw innocent children playing in the late afternoon sun. The meeting had taken longer than he initially thought.

Some children were playing with a ragged ball of filthy cloth, kicking it about and tossing it to eachother. They were playing on an abandoned training field. The ball was launched high in the air, the children running around it trying to decipher where it would land. Their dirty clothes rustled on the wind and waved whenever they would run a different direction.

A boy with dirty blonde hair stood in the right spot to kick the ball as it came down. He yelled that he would catch it, bringing back his right leg. They were barefoot, no shoes to protect their feet from the rocky ground. Shards of pots and roof tiles, as well as pointy little pebbles littered the ground, creating a literal field of cutlery.

The ball began its downward arc, slowly speeding up as it travelled the meters down. Ten, eight, six, three, one. The bow swung his leg up, foot stretched. The foot hit the ball… on the side. The boy had miscalculated slightly and hit the ball poorly. It was flung to the side, over the other kids' heads, and landed right in front of Hyoto.

The children froze when they saw Hyoto, standing there with his Shinigami robes and zanpakuto sheathed to his hip. They took a step back. Hyoto frowned, did they fear him? They took another couple of steps back, their backs now pressed against one of the buildings. It was not respect in their eyes, nor admiration. For some reason Shinigami were associated with intimidation and fearfulness in this district.

Adults slowly seeped into the picture. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, merchants and craftsmen. A few ran out towards the children, shielding them with their bodies, ushering them into their houses and shacks. Some of the adults gave him glares filled with hatred, others looks of fear. Hyoto didn't understand.

When the children were secured, the adults left the field and the ball was left behind on the field, completely forgotten.

Hyoto kept the frown on his face. He was greatly concerned with the residents' behaviour. 'What could've caused them to view us Shinigami in such a matter?' He didn't understand. But he could tell that this behaviour has run down for generations.

He continued his trek through the district, passing by more residents who gave him angry glares and fearful stares. He passed shops, hotels, stands with water and even a few brothels. He could hear laughter coming from inside them.

He rounded a corner… and was flattened against the ground. His head hurt, and he could feel a bump growing on his forehead. He rubbed it fervently, trying to scrub away the pounding headache that was forming. He looked at what knocked him down and saw a young man, also rubbing his head. He couldn't be older than sixteen or seventeen.

Said young man looked up and glared at Hyoto. "Watch where you're going, Old Man!" He shouted. "Shit man, that fucking hurt!"

Hyoto raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You ran into me, kid."

The young man, or old child, glared even harder. "Don't call me a kid, dipshit!" He said while getting to his feet. "Or I'll fucking kick your goddamn ass!"

Hyoto, who was also standing now, merely scoffed. "Is that so? And how were you planning on doing that. Can't you see what I am?" It was then he noticed the sword on the kid's back. It gave off a weird sensation, it was humming with power.

"I don't give two shits who or what you are! Anyone who messes with me will get their ass handed to them!" The kid yelled in Hyoto's face. Hyoto grew a tick mark, this kid was being incredibly disrespectful.

Suddenly, a couple of men came running into the street, carrying weapons of various sorts. Small, fragile swords, shards of glass and large branches with the leaves cut off so that it could be used as a bat. "There he is! Get him!" They shouted.

The kid looked alarmed. He made to run away, but bumped into Hyoto again, who stood firm this time. "Get the hell out of the way, Old Man!" He cried, this time a hint of desperation seeping through. "Let me the fuck pass!" The kid tried to run past Hyoto, but Hyoto grabbed his arm and held him tight. The men with weapons were approaching.

Once they saw Hyoto they hesitated slightly. But then the leader of the group stepped forward. "Thank you, mister Shinigami. We've been chasing this damned brat all over the district." The man said in a deep, gravelly voice. His breath smelled like dead rats bathed in alcohol and he was covered in filth.

The kid was looking fearful now, obviously these men were trying to hurt him. Hyoto spoke up. "What seems to be the problem here, gentlemen?" Hyoto asked calmly, but his eyes were hard as stone.

The men looked hesitant to tell him about their business, but the fear of lying and being rude to the Shinigami Captain quickly overrode their hesitancy. "We caught this kid stealing from Hashi's weapon shop, mister Shinigami." The leader flapped his fat arm and pointed to a man on the left, who nodded vehemently.

"When we confronted him, he ran off." The man said, turning back to Hyoto.

Hyoto looked at the kid with a raised eyebrow. "Is this true?"

The kid furiously shook his head, fearing what the Shinigami Captain might do to him. "N-No! I was just looking around the shop! Then I heard a voice in the back of my head, telling me weird shit about unleashing something and gaining power! Then this sword appeared on my back!" He pleaded.

Hashi, the shop-owner, looked enraged. "Don't lie, brat! That's the exact same sword as in my shop! And that one is gone!"

The men seemed convinced that the kid had stolen it. But Hyoto had his eyes widen at the boy. ' _The kid just manifested! And in a weapons shop nonetheless!_ ' The kid couldn't have any worse luck, Hyoto could understand that the men would think he stole a weapon. Hyoto tuned back to the argument that had ensued between the boy and the men.

"Is that really the sword from your shop, Hashi-san?" The group went silent. Hashi looked slightly started when Hyoto used his name. "Y-Yes, mister Shinigami. It's the exact same."

Hyoto nodded, before turning to the kid. "Were you perhaps admiring that sword, young man?" The kid looked at Hyoto as if he had grown a second head, but then he nodded. "Yes. Yes I was. I thought it had a nice shine to it." Hyoto nodded again and closed his eyes. The kid's zanpakuto had manifested in the form of his desires, at that moment the sword in the weapons shop.

Hashi grew impatient. "It doesn't matter if he was admiring the sword or not! I want my property back!" He made to grab the kid. "Come here you damned br-!" But he was interrupted as Hyoto pushed him back into the group of men. He fixated Hashi with a mean glare.

"Not so fast, Hashi-san." Hyoto said coolly. "You said he stole your property, correct?" Hashi nodded warily. Hyoto continued. "And you said you didn't steal it, correct?" He asked the kid, who also nodded warily.

Hashi exploded again. "That is a lie!"

Hyoto glared at him again. "No it's not." He said strongly. The men gave him surprised looks, while the kid gave him one of disbelief. Hyoto released the kid, who remained standing, frozen in shock. "But since you're adamant about his theft, I suppose that if he were to pay for it the matter would be resolved?"

Hashi nodded stunned. "Well yes, but-."

Hyoto interrupted him. "Then how much does it cost?" Hashi looked completely surprised. So much that it took him a while to answer. But when he registered he could possibly be making money, his mind cleared up quickly. "Five-thousand silver pieces." He said eagerly.

The kid looked shocked as he thought Hyoto was going to make him pay that much. He was baffled when Hyoto reached into his robes and produced a small pouch that made tinkling noises when it moved. Hyoto handed Hashi his money. "It is resolved then?" Hashi nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course, mister Shinigami! Pleasure doing business, mister Shinigami!" With a bow Hashi headed back to his shop.

The other men looked confused when they realised they didn't get to beat up someone. One of them even tried to grab the young kid, sure that Hashi still wanted to deal with him. But he was quickly stopped by Hyoto.

"Don't touch him." He said threateningly.

The other men quickly dragged him back with them, not wanting a conflict with the imposing Shinigami. Hyoto turned towards the kid with a smile. "Well that takes care of that." He said cheerily.

"Why…?" The kid stammered. "Why would you do that?"

Hyoto looked at him, never losing his smile. "Well, I couldn't possibly let you get beat up for a crime you didn't even commit, now could I?"

The kid suddenly glared at him. "What's the catch?" He snarled.

Hyoto looked surprised. "What do you mean 'what's the catch', there is no catch, no ulterior motive." Hyoto said. "I merely wished to help you."

The kid looked shocked and furious at the same time. "That's bullshit! That doesn't happen here! No one does that!" He screeched.

Hyoto chuckled. "Well, I'm not from here. So I guess that rule doesn't apply to me." He said kindly, before looking the kid in the eye. "Besides, it's every Shinigami's duty to aid their fellow brothers and sisters. It would be shameful for me to turn my back on someone who has just manifested." Hyoto looked in the direction in which the men had left. "Manifested in a weapons shop no less." Hyoto joked.

The kid didn't see the humour.

In fact, he looked close to having a breakdown. "M-Man-Manifested?" He stammered, his knees buckling. "I-I'm a Sh-Shinigami?" He was breathing sharply now.

Hyoto grabbed onto his shoulders, steadying him on his feet. "Yes, you've become a Shinigami. Most souls would've had to enrol in the Academy, before they can enlist in a Division." Hyoto explained.

The kid looked baffled. "W-What?"

Hyoto smiled. "If you want I can take you in. Train you to control your powers, I can teach you some pretty awesome things." Hyoto said encouragingly. "But only if you want too, of course. I won't force you into anything." Hyoto looked the kid over. "But I don't think you have a lot holding you back to this place, do you?"

The kid shook his head sadly. "I don't have anything. No home, no siblings, no parents. I am a nothing, how could I possibly fit in with your Division?" He said sadly, already prepared for refusal.

"Lucky it's just the two of us then, isn't it?" Hyoto sad cheekily.

The kid face faulted. "We're the only ones in the Division!?" He exclaimed astonished.

Hyoto gained a mischievous glint in his eyes. "So you've accepted then?"

The kid stood upright, back straight and head high. He had made up his mind. He nodded. "I accept, mister Shinigami" He said, his voice full of conviction.

Hyoto turned around and walked away. "Follow me then, kid. I'll show you where you're gonna live from now on."

The kid scowled at Hyoto's back. "Don't call me a kid, Old Man!" He yelled furiously.

Hyoto cocked his head back to look at him. "Then what do I call you?"

"Shintarou. Shintarou Kai."

…

 **And that is how Hyoto and Shintarou met and how Shintarou became the Lieutenant. As for the Captains meeting and the Captains that were send as a response unit, for those who don't know this is about the confrontation between Kisuke Urahara and Aizen Sousuke that ended in Urahara being exiled from Soul Society. I planned Hyoto's mission to Hueco Mundo to happen at the same time. That way, Hyoto wouldn't have interfered with Aizen's plans.**

 **As of now, this story has a little over 140 views, the numbers grow by the day! I'm really excited by this, so as a reward I uploaded the next chapter sooner. Or at least I think it's sooner, I don't really have a schedule. But anyway, if you like this story, please review or favorite or follow, that would make my day. See you next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I'm back again. After a long, long, long time. I don't know exactly how long, maybe a month? Or two?**

 **Anyway, here's chapter 5 of the Captain and The Espada. I'm pretty stoked to release it, since this story has gotten a lot of attention over it's time. Over 450 views, and even a couple of favourites and follows. Awesome! Keep it up people, and I'll continue to write this epic story.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 5**

 _(99 years later, one year before the war with Aizen)_

Swords clashed. Silver glints caused some to squeeze their eyes a little to block out the light. The sun shone down bright and glorious as it had conquered the relentless night. Birds flew over the many buildings and trees rustled in the wind. Everything seemed to breathe relaxation. Peace enveloped Soul Society's flora and fauna like a warm blanket. Everything was calm.

Except for the Captains of the Gotei 13. They had their subordinates working like they have never worked before. Ten hour training shifts every single day. The barracks were, for the first time in over three-hundred years, completely full. Every single Shinigami had been recalled and housed in their respective barracks. No one could be seen outside in the streets of the Seireitei except for messengers. They were divided in three squads. One squad would train ten hours a day for a week, while one other squad was cleaning and maintaining the barracks or handing out drinks and the other squad was resting. But this was not for leisure. The 'rest' time was reserved for meditation so that Shinigami could bond with their zanpakuto.

Hyoto circled the training field utilized by the 13th Division. Captain-Commander Yamamoto had given him an assignment to inspect the training and preparation made for the upcoming battle.

' _War…_ ' Hyoto thought sombrely. Sousuke Aizen had betrayed them. Sousuke Aizen had betrayed Soul Society. It had been planned since that one day, 99 years ago. The day Hyoto had recovered from his venture into Hueco Mundo. The day Hyoto learned about the apparent betrayal of his friend Kisuke Urahara. They day he learned that five fellow Captains had been killed, only to be revealed to be alive when Aizen fled to Hueco Mundo alongside Tōsen and Gin, Aizen's Lieutenant. Hyoto bristled when he remembered Aizen's little hoax, faking his well-deserved death. ' _I never trusted that man!_ '

It had been two months since Aizen's defection, two months since Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki made an appearance. He shook up the well preserved order the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 maintained pretty well. Utter confusion surrounded him as he overcame any challenge the Gotei 13 threw at him.

It all began when Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and his Lieutenant, Renji Abarai, were sent to the world of the living to apprehend a Shinigami. Rukia Kuchiki, Byakuya's little sister, was that Shinigami. She was assumed to have gone rogue, after not returning to Soul Society for several months. Upon further investigation it was discovered that she had given her Soul Reaper powers to a human, Ichigo Kurosaki. A fifteen-year-old boy living in Karakura Town, where she was stationed. And although Byakuya didn't show it, Hyoto knew his former subordinate was torn on the inside.

Rukia stayed with the human. Scouts from the Onmitsūkido shadowed her and revealed her to be aiding the human in tracking down Hollows and killing them. The human wasn't doing anything wrong in Hyoto's opinion, but the bastards in Central 46 wanted the boy dead and the Shinigami arrested. While the boy only sought to protect his family, Rukia had no further reason to stay behind, and Hyoto couldn't for the life of him figure out a reason for Rukia to give away her powers to a human. He had met the girl several times, she possessed the pride of the Kuchiki-clan and was very protective of her zanpakuto.

Nonetheless, Hyoto thought the punishment was much too severe for the actions taken by Rukia and the human. It was then that suspicion started to settle in the back of Hyoto's mind, especially since Aizen had been the strongest supporter of Rukia's apprehension. He was always wary of Aizen. Hyoto never felt threatened or intimidated by the Shinigami, but he gave of a certain aura that screamed ' _danger_ '. The fact that Hyoto didn't know what his zanpakuto's powers were or that no other Captain he could recall were present for his Bankai, didn't necessarily help much either.

Apparently it was Aizen's plan to have Rukia captured and executed. Which incidentally happened to coincide with the punishment given by the Central 46. ' _Third-seat of the 13th Division Rukia Kuchiki was to be executed within twenty-three days upon capture_ ', was the order given. Hyoto's suspicion grew instantly. From a planted seed to a small bush. It was just too coincidental.

Hyoto watched with the other Captains and the Captain-Commander, as the orange-haired Substitute Shinigami invaded Soul Society, probably with the help of Urahara and Kukaku Shiba, whom was actually a decent friend of Hyoto. Ichigo and three of his friends, and a cat, had shot themselves from Kukaku's canon and smashed through the Seireitei's Air Defence Shield, which hung over the Seireitei like a dome. They had then proceeded to engage several Shinigami, including Ikkaku and Yumichika and had escaped without any casualties. After that he and his friends faced multiple Captains and somehow not died.

Ichigo even fought Zaraki Kenpachi and won! Well, sort of. Kenpachi was the one with the worst injuries, almost died even if not for his pink-haired Lieutenant, Yachiru. Hyoto was sent to retrieve the body of the orange-haired invader, but found the scene of the titanic battle devoid of any presence, only debris of the crushed structures that had once surrounded the battlefield. He got a little reprimand from Yamamoto about not chasing after the 'threat to Soul Society', but Hyoto doubted the boy would do anyone any serious harm. Maybe only to their pride.

He then resurfaced the next day. His friends had somehow hidden themselves in the chaos that occurred during their invasion. Ichigo made it pretty close to rescuing Rukia from her prison, but was stopped by Byakuya. Ichigo was then in turned rescued from Byakuya's Bankai by none other than the 'Flash Goddess'. Yoruichi Shihōin had returned to Soul Society after nearly a century of exile. Hyoto was the happiest he had ever been since that day, 99 years ago. He was excited when he caught sight of her. He smiled at her, and Yoruichi smiled back. Well, gave a mischievous grin is more accurate. They both knew Hyoto wouldn't get involved in this debacle anymore.

Soi-Fon was upset. No, she was angry, furious, happy, sad and confused at the same time. She simply didn't know what to feel when she first saw her mentor after a century of absence.

Yoruichi took Ichigo away to a location no one knew. No one but Hyoto, but he wouldn't tell anyone. Dozens of search teams were dispatched after Yamamoto caught wind of Yoruichi's appearance, but they came back empty handed. At the same time, Central 46 ordered the execution day to be pushed forward to four days from now. That meant Ichigo now had four days to rescue Rukia. Hyoto wanted to free Rukia and aid Ichigo, something about him appealed to Hyoto. But he also wanted to test the boy, to see how far he would go for one of his friends. So he let Rukia be. He would save her if things got out of hand.

Ichigo appeared at the Sokyoku hill, on the day of the execution. He stopped the massive spear, which had transformed in a fiery phoenix, with his sword. A massive body-length cleaver strapped to his back. The size of Ichigo's zanpakuto left Hyoto's mouth agape. That kid had some serious reiatsu.

He cut Rukia lose and threw her at Renji Abarai, who aided them. Hyoto laughed at the expression of shock on Byakuya's face as a member of the Kuchiki-clan was thrown like a football –Hyoto had done some research on the world of the living-. Three Lieutenants, Sasakibe, Isane and Omaeda tried to chase after Renji and Rukia, who had run off. They were, however, stopped by Ichigo, whom defeated them barehanded.

This had set Byakuya off. He began to engage Ichigo in a fierce battle. Ichigo eventually revealed to have achieved his Bankai. And apparently, in three days… That Yoruichi.

Ichigo just continued to surprise Hyoto, pleasantly at that. It was then Aizen sprung his trap. He recaptured Rukia and brought her back to Sokyoku hill, where he reached into her and pulled forth a shiny object inside a kido-box. Most of the Captains had already cleared from the hill, in pursuit of the invaders. When Aizen defected, they were unable to stop him in time, including Hyoto. A portal to Hueco Mundo opened up and three yellow beams enveloped Aizen and his companions, Gin and Tōsen. No attacks were able to cut through those beams. Hyoto probably could, but he didn't think Yamamoto would be happy if he did.

In the end, the invaders were pardoned and Rukia cleared of all charges. Apparently Aizen had also slaughtered the Central 46, a couple of months ago. This allowed Aizen to play out everything into his hand. The only apparent unreliability was Ichigo. Hyoto's fondness of the boy grew.

Ichigo was given the position of Substitute Shinigami and his assigned region would be his hometown. Ichigo was still a human and didn't want to give up his life already. But if he chose to stay in Soul Society, he would've probably become a Captain. Why? Because his reiatsu was already level with that of Byakuya. And he possessed his Bankai. And if his control wasn't as shabby as his was, he could probably rival Juushiro.

The Substitute integrated fluidly in the Divisions. He was greatly respected for defeating Captain Kenpachi and several other high-level Shinigami. And the stunt he pulled at the Sokyoku Hill, defeating three Lieutenants barehanded gave him quite the boost in fame. He emitted power and his aura demanded respect. But those that deserved it could also feel kindness. That was what was so great about Ichigo. His reiatsu felt so raw, so pure and natural. It was an amazing sensation.

Shintarou also took a liking to him. They were quite similar. Both would do anything to protect those dear to them. They were both very strong and if angered, would be an extremely dangerous threat. They were also very hot-tempered. At first glance you wouldn't call them friends. Challenges arose from nothing and were about everything. Who could do the most push-ups? Who could run further? Who punched the hardest?

Renji and Ikkaku often got dragged into those challenges. Four strong Lieutenant-level Shinigami with a short fuse. That didn't end well. People started calling them the 'Hot-Head Quartet'.

Life slowly returned to normal after that. The Captains positions left by Aizen and his co-conspirators were left unattended, forcing the Lieutenants and Captains who volunteered to take over the duties. The Divisions were shaken at the losses of their Captains, but the Lieutenants were hit even harder. Momo Hinamori the hardest. The poor girl stayed in the 4th Division barracks for two months.

The Divisions were now training for the inevitable end battle with Aizen. Skirmishes with Hollows in both Soul Society and the World Of The Living had increased, forcing Ichigo to return sooner than Yamamoto would have liked. The boy was still a little ignorant to the ancient ways of the Soul Society.

Hyoto approached Ichigo before he left. They talked for a while. About themselves and their friends. Family, although Hyoto didn't have any blood relatives. Hyoto told Ichigo about his childhood as the protégé of the esteemed Captain-Commander Genryusai Yamamoto. He told him about Unohana, Kyoraku and Ukitake in their childhoods. All in all, they shared quite a lot. Ichigo treated Hyoto with respect. Respect that was shared between them. When Ichigo departed, Hyoto had promised him a position in the 14th Division if Ichigo ever wanted to become a fulltime Shinigami.

Not long after Ichigo's departure Hyoto had gotten the order to inspect the training sessions of all the Divisions. A tedious task that would require at least a week to complete. So that's where Hyoto found himself now, in the training grounds of the 10th Division. He had already completed 13 through 11, while the 11th didn't really train as they were 'busy' reorganizing the information they had on Hollows and Aizen.

Hyoto approached Captain Hitsugaya, a new addition to the Captain ranks. Ginrei Kuchiki had, once again, substituted for a Captain's position after the exile of Urahara and Yoruichi. There were no candidates for the 10th, so that left it leaderless. Eventually Toshiro Hitsugaya had rolled out of the academy, a true prodigy. He took the Captain's mantle of the 10th for himself and the Division prospered. Hitsugaya was a very stoic and cool person, but his busty Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto often revealed his more furious side. Although, it was quite humorous to see the tiny child Captain suffocate between his Lieutenants gravity defying breasts.

Hitsugaya was sitting beneath a tree, covered in its shade. His white hair ruffled on the breeze, imitating the leafs above his head. He had a cold scowl on his face as he observed his subordinates. Hyoto walked over to him.

"It's not a great confidence booster if your Captain is scowling at you, Toshiro-san." Hyoto remarked cheekily.

Hitsugaya turned his scowl towards him, and Hyoto could swear he saw his eye twitch when he said his first name.

"It should encourage them to try harder," He said coolly. "That way, I wouldn't have to scowl at them." He stated, crossing his arms in front of his chest. As always he wore his standard Shinigami robes and Captain's haori. His large zanpakuto strapped across his back.

Hyoto took a seat beside him. Hitsugaya regarded him from the corner of his eye. "Why are you here, Captain Hyoto?" He asked in a monotone voice, attention fixed on a Shinigami somewhere in the far back.

Hyoto shot him a surprised look, before sighing in realization. "Matsumoto-san didn't tell you, did she?" He saw Hitsugaya stiffen, his teeth grinding as he spat out his Lieutenants name.

Hyoto chuckled at his anger, it was so childlike. "Anyway, I'm here to inspect the training schedule of your Division." Hyoto said, to which Hitsugaya gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"What I've seen so far is promising. Did you stick with the shifts-system the Captain-Commander gave you?" Hitsugaya nodded.

"I have indeed chosen to stick with it. Although I find it quite lacking and would've liked to create my own schedule, I do see the usefulness in it." Hyoto sweat dropped at the mature tone his voice took on.

"You know, Toshiro-san. You don't have to be so mature all the time. You may be a Captain, but you're still a child, too." Hyoto said kindly. Hitsugaya's scowl grew deeper.

"I'm not a child, and it's Hitsugaya!" He snapped. "And I will act as I want to! My Division needs a competent leader and I can't be that if I succumb to my childish needs. Besides, if Matsumoto did her job I would have a little more free time!" His voice was a vicious snarl.

Hitsugaya looked at Hyoto with icy, penetrating eyes. "Also, I don't see how it's any of your business to indulge yourself in my behaviour. Last I checked you weren't my legal guardian."

Hyoto's mouth twitched. "So cold, Toshiro-san."

Hitsugaya looked back at his subordinates. "My zanpakuto is a giant ice-dragon, what did you expect I would be like." Hitsugaya's small form leaned against the tree at his back.

Hyoto adorned a soft expression, a sad smile on his face. "You know, Toshiro. All ice melts sometime. Whether it is to a candle, a fire or the sun doesn't matter," He began, Hitsugaya looked at him again. "It's only a matter of time."

Hitsugaya scoffed. "I don't have time to wait for ice to melt, I'm much too busy." He glanced at his subordinates, a scowl reappearing. "Nagato!" He yelled. A red-haired Shinigami spun around, a startled look on his face. Hitsugaya beckoned him over and he came sprinting. He was panting slightly when he came to a standstill in front of Hitsugaya and Hyoto.

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya?" He then looked at Hyoto and gave a small bow of respect. "Captain Hyoto." Hyoto nodded at him with a smile. Hyoto noticed the man's eyes were a deep purple.

Hitsugaya's face remained stoic and cool. "What did you think you were doing?" He asked steely.

"C-Captain?" Nagato's expression told Hyoto that he didn't know what Hitsugaya was talking about, and Hyoto suspected Hitsugaya knew too.

Hitsugaya watched Nagato squirm under his gaze. "I asked you, what did you think you were doing?" His voice remained as hard as steel.

Nagato seemed nervous under his Captain's cool stare. "I-I have no clue what you're talking about, C-Captain." Nagato started to sweat. Hyoto looked on in mild amusement, but he eventually decided to let this be an internal affair of the 10th Division. Besides, there was nothing left for Hyoto and Hitsugaya to talk about. The training regime looked good and no one was slacking off, not even Matsumoto. So Hyoto started his journey to the 9th Division.

He could hear Hitsugaya scream at his subordinate, whom was fervently trying to defend himself. "You're supposed to hold your zanpakuto in two hands, you incompetent fool!" Hitsugaya yelled. Hyoto flinched, that was a little harsh from the 10th Division Captain, but it wasn't his business.

Hyoto prayed for Nagato.

He shunpo-ed away, speeding up his journey to a quick pace. He came across several construction sites that were rebuilding the many destroyed buildings. Ichigo and his friends did a number on Soul Society's architecture, and gardens. A few great and grand craters and many smaller holes covered the Seireitei. The gates were destroyed and the Sokyoku Hill had two new ravines as decoration. Hyoto thought this displayed perfectly how destructive a Shinigami war could be. And a big one was waiting on the horizon.

Hyoto landed on a roof overlooking the reconstruction of one of the teahouses that had been struck by one of the blasts fired by the human giant with the weird arm. He recalled Shunsui telling him about his battle with the large human. That weird arm could fire incredibly strong reiatsu blasts. Hyoto wasn't there to witness it, since he was busy trailing Ichigo. He had been so enraptured in the Substitute Shinigami that he forgotten all about his friends. But he was sure he would get a chance to observe the giant human in the future.

He spotted Shūhei Hisagi, the Lieutenant for the 9th Division, talking with Kira in front of the teahouse. Hyoto ceased his chance to talk to the 'commander' of the 9th Division and shunpo-ed to his side. Both Lieutenants gave a startled yelp when Hyoto suddenly appeared next to them.

"C-Captain Hyoto!" Hisagi stammered frightened. When he regained his wits and saw Hyoto chuckling, he sobered up. "Would you please not do that, Captain Hyoto. You scared the hell out of me. And it's not funny!" He exclaimed as Hyoto chuckling deepened.

Hyoto waved his hands in front of him. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Hisagi-san." Hyoto patronized. "But I couldn't help myself. Besides, what's the harm in an old man having a little bit of fun every now and then." Hyoto's voice mocked that of an old man.

Hisagi sighed and shook his head. "You're not an old man, Captain Hyoto. And besides that, this is not the time for jokes. Soul Society is still in chaos and paperwork is abundant." Hisagi paled at the thought of all the paperwork he would have to do in the absence of his Captain.

Hyoto frowned at Hisagi. "If there ever was a time for jokes, it would be now." Both Hisagi and Kira looked at him. "We are about to fight a war. A war that will take everything we have and put it to the test." Hyoto's eyes mulled over. "We will lose people. Friends, brothers or sisters, lovers. No one will be safe." Hisagi and Kira looked down at their feet at the prospect of death. Hyoto placed a hand on their shoulders.

"That is why now is the right time to relax. Enter the battle without regrets and our chance of victory will increase that much. And if you should die, at least you'll die happy, knowing you've lived the best you could." Hyoto smiled reassuringly.

"So relax. Have fun." He patted the backs of the two Lieutenants who were staring at him in wonder, their mouths slightly agape. Their eyes seemed to sparkle.

"C-Captain Hyoto…" Hisagi said with a voice that dripped admiration. Kira seemed on the verge of tears. Hyoto raised an eyebrow. He had meant to inspire them, he wasn't so sure what he had accomplished now.

"Uhm, you alright, Hisagi?" He asked hesitantly. Hisagi seemed to snap out of his admirable trance and nodded.

"Yes, Captain! I'm perfectly fine."

Hyoto smiled. "Okay, then. That's great." He then turned around and beckoned for them to follow him. "So, Hisagi. The reason I came to you, I'm pretty sure you already know what it is, don't you?"

Hisagi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I do. The Captain-Commander has ordered you to inspect the training schedules of all the Division's." He stated, he scratched at the bandages on his nose. "Since you came to me, I can assume you've already finished with the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth?"

Hyoto hmm-ed. "Indeed I have. They are all ahead on schedule, as far as I can see. And I would've made my way to the 9th Division barracks, but I understood that the barracks aren't exactly safe now."

Hisagi chuckled nervously. Hyoto had gotten the report from Shintarou. Apparently Ikkaku Madarame had gotten into a fight with another Shinigami, and had wrecked the barracks.

"Well, I have a couple of my subordinates starting repairs on the building, it's mostly the east wing that has been damaged." Hisagi explained. "It should be done in five or six weeks. Until then I have requested permission to set up camp in one of the training fields to continue training."

Hyoto observed Hisagi from the corner of his eye. "I approve of your decision. Well done, Hisagi-san." Hisagi's cheeks turned pink at the praise. They rounded a corner and travelled down a shopping street. Vendors were up and about selling their goods to passer-by's. Jewellery and luxurious artifacts and what not.

Hyoto waved at one of the vendors. "You know, if you require an appropriate environment for personal evaluation, you could always use the 14th Division's barracks. It wouldn't be a problem." Hyoto said.

Hisagi gave a surprised look, before trying to politely decline. "No, that's quite alright, Captain. I wouldn't want me and my subordinates imposing on your Division. I'm sure they would need the barracks for themselves."

Hyoto stopped walking and turned around, giving Hisagi a deadpan look. "My Division exists out of eight people, Hisagi. Myself included."

Hisagi rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. He was about to say that it was not needed, when Kira nudged him with his elbow. Apparently Hisagi understood the message. "W-Well, if it's really not too much trouble, I gladly accept your proposal, Captain Hyoto."

At this Hyoto lost his deadpan look and smiled. "Come by any time. If you need help with anything, my office is always open." Hyoto then turned to Kira.

"By the way, Kira-san. Since you are here with Hisagi-san, I can presume Shintarou has already visited your Division?" Hyoto asked the blonde Lieutenant.

Kira blinked back at him in confusion. "Shintarou-san was going to visit my Division?" He asked Hyoto, who gave him a scrutinizing gaze in return. "Err, no Captain. I was notified with your inspection, but since you were starting with the 13th Division, I figured I wasn't going to see you until evening."

Hyoto's temper flared. His white hair fell in front of his face, as his head tilted slightly forward and a tick-mark appeared on his temple. "So Shintarou hasn't been to your Division, has he?" Hyoto asked while gritting his teeth.

Kira looked slightly fearful and took a few steps backward. A dark aura surrounded the Captain of the 14th Division. "N-No sir. I haven't seen him since the Lieutenants meeting two weeks ago."

At this Hyoto growled. "Are you kidding me!?" He exclaimed, startling Kira and Hisagi. "That bastard just caused me another day's worth of work, that lazy son of a bitch!" Hyoto was gripping his hair in frustration, spitting curses through clenched teeth.

Hisagi grew a little bit concerned with the Captain's reaction. Shintarou had skipped work before and Hyoto never reacted this way. "Calm down, Captain. There's no reason to react so furious."

Hyoto froze, slowly turning towards the pair of Lieutenants with a piercing glare. "No reason? No reason!?" Hyoto yelled. "I have all the reason to be this angry! Not only did he abandon his duties as my Lieutenant, he failed the expectations of the Captain-Commander, which reflects poorly on me!"

Hyoto was seriously ticked off, Hisagi and Kira noted, who shared a worried glance. This was getting out of hand. Captain Hyoto was a scary person to be around when he was angry. Sometimes his reiatsu would fly out of control and incidentally activate his Shikai. Inhaling massive amounts of raw reiatsu directly into your lungs couldn't possibly be healthy.

"And he took my _fucking_ cookies!"

Hisagi and Kira face faulted. Of course… The only thing that would piss Hyoto off this much, would be if someone ate his cookies.

Hyoto continued to rant, unconsciously flaring his reiatsu. "They were limited edition. Milk flavoured chocolate-chip cookies, baked by a world-class baker in the world of the living! Do you know how hard it was to get those, let alone into Soul Society!" Hyoto stamped his foot down, causing a small earthquake that shattered the paved ground. Hisagi and Kira desperately tried to find their balance, as the earthquake almost caused them to fall.

"I was going to forgive him if he did a good job with the inspection. But noooo! The bastard goes off and does absolutely nothing! Piece of shit freeloader!" Hyoto was pulling on locks of his hair. Hisagi and Kira were sweating under the pressure of the reiatsu the Captain was unconsciously releasing, silently praying for something to distract the Captain.

Then suddenly, the Captain broke of the continuous stream of reiatsu and snapped his head around to look in the distance behind him. He was looking in the direction of the training fields of the 11th Division. In a quiet and dangerous voice, he spoke. "Found him…" And he shot off using flash step, leaving behind a dust trail and a small gust of wind.

Hisagi and Kira raised their arms in front of their face to block the dust that flew into their eyes. Once the dust had settled down again they looked on in the direction the enraged Captain had took off.

"Should we follow him?" Kira asked

"Do we _want_ to follow him?" Hisagi asked in return.

Kira sighed in reluctance. "Our duty as Shinigami says we should. Protecting peace and balance and all that."

Hisagi nodded in understanding. Though he did not like it, what Kira said was true. Their most basic duty was to protect the peace of the Soul Society, even if it's from its own inhabitants. Hisagi and Kira looked at eachother.

"Probably should let a Captain handle this."

"Yeah."

And together they walked off, back towards the teahouse where they met with Captain Hyoto. They didn't look back at where the Captain had lost his cool.

Hyoto, however, had almost reached the training fields of the 11th Division already. They possessed the largest grounds of the entire Gotei 13, spreading well over a couple of thousand acres, somewhere far to the south of the Soul Society. The main reason being so that Kenpachi wouldn't cause too much collateral damage. The fields were forever scarred by massive craters and deep gashes that were slammed mercilessly into the earth. It had housed many of the spars between Hyoto and Kenpachi in which he had sort of been blackmailed in.

Hyoto had already lost most of the anger he had before, having turned into annoyance. But he was still going to discipline Shintarou, the boy had gotten much too arrogant after Hyoto had helped him refine his abilities. His pupil, and the first member of the 14th Division, had grown immensely in just a hundred years, having surpassed many other Lieutenants and even Captains. The day they met had also been the day he manifested. Hyoto took him in and trained him personally. They soon discovered that the main ability the zanpakuto granted was wind manipulation, which suited Shintarou's personality quite well. A usually calm individual whom was mostly passive, but could quickly grow into a furious reincarnation of a typhoon.

The sheer destructive power Shintarou held was admirable and terrifying at the same time. Hyoto had experienced first-hand exactly what Shintarou was capable off, and it filled him both with pride and worry. That kind of power could go over your head and would only grow more dangerous as it is refined. Hyoto had no doubt that only a select few of the high-ranking Shinigami could stand up to Shintarou if he went all out. And Hyoto was sure that Shintarou knew that too.

But he wasn't even close to Hyoto himself.

True Shintarou was extremely powerful, scarily so. But it would never size up to the potentially world-destructive power Hyoto could muster. Hyoto was claimed, by some of the older Shinigami, to be the strongest Shinigami to have ever walked the halls of the Seireitei. Trained by Yamamoto himself from birth and raised among some of the greatest Shinigami Seireitei had spawned, he was a force to be reckoned with.

And he was only matched by one.

Hyoto approached the training fields of the 11th Division, where he had felt a spike of Shintarou's reiatsu. His sensory skills had improved significantly since his mission to Hueco Mundo. He could pick up much fainter signals now.

Shintarou was standing in the middle of the field, surrounded by deep gashes and craters, which seemed fresh. He was looking a little worn out. His clothing was slightly damaged and he had a few cuts on his arms and face, as well as dirt in his black, spiky hair, his usual puck style singling him out from the group of Shinigami who were also present. Hyoto's eyes widened in surprise.

A group of ten black clothed Shinigami stood of to the side, watching Shintarou from a safe distance. Hyoto could recognise Yumichika, his weird eyelashes that defined him standing out from the rest. He also saw Renji, the 6th Division's Lieutenant, who stood next to a hopping Yachiru. The little pink-haired Lieutenant was jumping around and clapping her hands in joy while releasing girly giggles.

While the combination was certainly odd, that wasn't what surprised him. The other seven Shinigami, were what made him gasp. He never saw all of them together, especially not for something like this.

Slightly behind Renji and Yachiru, stood all of the 14th Division.

Hyoto saw all of his recruited members. He saw Iruka Azawa with his usual impassive look and crossed arms, his brown hair pulled into a ponytail.

Next to Iruka stood Koge-Fū, looking worried and sweating slightly, his long blue hair was flowing on the wind.

On the other side of Iruka was Uugi Danmazu, his usual relaxed posture easily recognisable.

Slightly further off was Saisūn Kirihika with a bored expression, quietly wishing he could be anywhere other than there.

And lastly, Makisarou Azoumaru, Hyoto's quiet subordinate, stood a little away from the group, deep purple hair framing his face in a wild bed-head haircut.

These people had been placed under his command during the last one hundred years. Some sought out by himself and others appointed to him. Most of them had freak zanpakuto abilities or stood out from the rest of the Gotei 13. Take Uugi for instance, the guy's body turned into actual water when he released his zanpakuto. What's more is that all of them were extremely powerful. Well, for ordinary Shinigami standards.

It was highly unusual for Hyoto to find them all together. They all had something else to do most of the time. Hyoto would need two pairs of hands to count the failed Division Unification Meetings he had organized.

Then what brought them here together?

The others hadn't seen or sensed him yet, mostly because no one could sense him, other than the Captains. They all, including Renji, Yumichika and a now calm Yachiru, were attentively observing a figure that crawled out of a dust filled crater. It wore Shinigami robes and had a shiny, bald head.

Ikkaku Madarame.

The Third-Seat of the 11th Division slowly picked himself up from the crater, rising on his feet until he stood upright. He too looked worn out, a couple of scrapes and scratches on his body and clothes. Hyoto let out am annoyed sigh. Of course Shintarou would wind up in a scuffle with Ikkaku. Those two would fight eachother for the pettiest of reasons. They constantly challenged eachother.

Ikkaku seemed to have caught his breath, and raised his released zanpakuto, a spear with red fur hanging from the tip and levelled it at Shintarou. "HA! You hit like a little bitch. I didn't even feel that!" Ikkaku yelled mockingly at Shintarou

Shintarou grew an angry tick mark on his forehead. "Oh yeah? Then what is that ugly-ass bruise on your head? Oh wait, that _is_ your FACE!" Shintarou shouted back. Now it was Ikkaku's turn to grow a tick mark.

"Shut your fuckin' mouth, tiny wiener! I'll fuckin' kick your goddamn butt, asshole!" Ikkaku screamed enraged. He grabbed his spear with two hands, one near the tip and one near the end of the spear. He pointed it at Shintarou and prepared to charge.

It was then Hyoto realised Shintarou had also released his zanpakuto. The usual katana had been transformed into a wider and broader nodachi form. The handle was around the size of Shintarou's right arm from shoulder to wrist. The blade was attached to the handle by a handguard in the form of a spiky shuriken. The blade itself was about twenty inches wide and the size of a human body, completing its total size of seven feet in length. Small swirls of red wind circled the blade, signalling it was charged with Shintarou's wind-type reiatsu.

Shintarou gave a mocking laugh. "Ha! You kick my ass? That's a good joke!" He yelled challengingly. "I'll fucking laugh about it when I bury you six feet deep under the 11th Division's toilets!" Shintarou too, readied himself in a charging position. "Now get over here so I can blow your fucking head away!"

Ikkaku looked disgusted, before smirking mischievously. "Sorry dude, I don't swing that way. I'm not a supporter of that team."

Shintarou face faulted, before glaring furiously at Ikkaku. "I didn't mean it like that, _fucktard_! Stop questioning my fucking sexuality!" He screamed, shaking his fist at Ikkaku.

Ikkaku glared right back. "Then stop saying gay shit like that! You'll confuse everyone." They both got ready again. "Now shut up, stay still and let me kill you, damnit!"

Shintarou growled. "Me saying gay shit? You were the one talking about my dick! How would you even know that, do you spy on me or something!?"

Ikkaku glared harder, before smirking. "So you admit it's tiny?"

"No damnit! Shut the fuck up!"

"No, you shut up!"

They both flew at eachother, weapons raised and ready to strike. Hyoto chose that moment to interfere, after listening to their argument and repeatedly face palming himself. He shunpo-ed above them and shot down, grabbing their heads and slamming them hard into the ground. The force in which Hyoto slammed them into the earth shaped a new crater and cracked the earth around it. A dust cloud shot up, hiding them from sight.

Once the cloud settled, Hyoto was revealed standing above the two brawling Shinigami, who now lay on the ground twitching and groaning in pain. Hyoto had his foot planted on his Lieutenant's head, pinning him further in the ground. He was glaring at them hard. "So, when I discover you disobeyed your orders, I find you fighting against a fellow Shinigami like a mindless barbarian." He growled menacingly, to which Shintarou groaned slightly louder.

Ikkaku made to get up, but was shoved back into the ground face-first by a small pink-haired Lieutenant that landed on his back. Yachiru was laughing loudly and gave a beaming smile. "Hey, Hyo-kun!"

Losing all dark features, Hyoto smiled down at the small Lieutenant warmly. "Good afternoon, Yachiru-chan. How are you?" Yachiru smiled right back at him. Hyoto often found it hard to refuse her anything she asked of him. Unohana called it his 'weakness for children'.

"I'm beating up Baldie the cueball!" Her childlike enthusiasm clashed with violent nature of her statement, so much so that it was hard not to chuckle at it. Ikkaku made to protest against Yachiru for the use of his nickname, but was silenced as his face was once again shoved back into the earth. Yumichika walked up behind Yachiru. "Be careful, Lieutenant. Or you'll make Ikkaku's un-beautiful face even less appealing." He said cheekily, to which Yachiru pouted. "But it's fun!"

Hyoto heard several footsteps behind him as the rest of the watching Shinigami approached him.

"Did you have to break them up, Captain Hyoto? It was quite amusing to watch." Saisūn asked, with a small smirk on his face as he watched Shintarou squirm under Hyoto's heel.

Renji appeared next to Saisūn. "The bastards deserved it anyway. They started this back at the 6th Division's barracks, wrecked a damn wall." He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Shintarou managed to do a push-up to get his face out of the dirt… "Shut up, Pineapple! Your fucking Bankai destroyed that wall!"… And it was shoved back down by Hyoto's foot.

"Be quiet you." Hyoto said darkly, before turning back to Renji. "The damages will be paid for, you can tell that to your Captain." Renji closed his eyes and nodded satisfied at this.

"Though, I do expect you to be honest when you tell him, Lieutenant Renji." Hyoto's voice turned stern. Renji stiffened, a drip of sweat rolling past his head. "But of course, that speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

"Y-Yes! Of course, Captain Hyoto, absolutely!" Renji stammered.

Hyoto turned his head to look at the remainder of the 14th Division, who had grouped around the two floored Shinigami. "And you guys? What has got you all huddled up? That usually doesn't happen." Hyoto said, while giving Shintarou's head one last good push into the ground before stepping off of him, eliciting a rather loud grunt of pain. Both Ikkaku and Shintarou shakily got into a sitting position.

Saisūn scoffed. "Those two punks got in a fight and disrupted my meditation session. I came over to set them straight, but they were already going at it when I arrived. So I stayed and watched." Shintarou mumbled a 'like you could' under his breath, to which Hyoto gave him a look that clearly said 'watch it'.

Uugi moved into Hyoto's peripheral vision. "I was watching the clouds in this field. You know, just relaxing." He said calmly, then turned towards Shintarou. "You should try it sometime, Shintarou." Shintarou grumbled at that, mumbling profanities under his breath.

Koge-fū chuckled. "Well, me and Makisarou were helping Iruka with his Gravity Kido back at the barracks. Then Yachiru came running to us, saying that Shintarou was fighting with Ikkaku, or Baldie-kun." He scratched the side of his face.

Hyoto nodded. "I see." They had been drawn here by the confrontation of Ikkaku and Shintarou. This brought back some of the anger Hyoto had lost before. Not only did Shintarou forsake his duties, he disrupted valuable training sessions of his fellow squad mates. Truly irresponsible behaviour.

Saisūn coughed into his hand. "Well that, and because he had your cookies."

The rest of the 14th Division nodded, before turning expectantly towards Hyoto. Shintarou had completely frozen up in fear. Sweat started pouring down his face and neck as a dark, killing intent flooded his senses. He mechanically turned his head towards Hyoto, who's hair was blocking his face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Hyoto said in a dark, menacing voice. "Please, tell me, Shintarou. Where are my cookies?" Shintarou gulped audibly, nervousness weighing him down like an anchor. Something told him that he had fucked up good this time.

He tried to shunpo, but was held back by a steely grip on his shoulder as Hyoto's hand clamped down hard. "Answer me, Shintarou." Hyoto had a furious expression on his face, nose scrunched up in rage. "Where. Are. My. Cookies."

Silence ruled the area. Shintarou was too scared to speak. Hyoto was awaiting Shintarou's answer. And the rest was eagerly awaiting the result. Then Shintarou broke the silence.

"I ate them."

The silence was back again. Then Hyoto broke it.

"…Ban…kai…"

The training fields were covered in a deep, green light that shone as bright as the sun. Then a deep rumbling shook the Soul Society. Fissures spread out like a cobweb that was lain on the ground. Then a gargantuan BOOM echoed over the valleys, startling every Shinigami in the vicinity. With great violence, the earth was torn and dented as an explosion the size of a nuke ripped it all apart. Shockwave travelled over the grounds of the Soul Society, scorching and burning all the vegetation to ash. It reached the civilized area and damaged the buildings.

Once the violent explosion had settled down, a crater could be seen. It was easily the size of a large town and several dozen of meters deep. The 11th Division's training fields had been completely obliterated, uprooted and destroyed. Not one recognisable part could be found.

A group of seven Shinigami landed at the edge of the training fields, unharmed and slightly miffed at having to flee the explosion. None of them were really worried about the fact that they just had to outrun a nuclear blast.

Yachiru was cheering loudly, jumping up and down in childlike joy. "Yay! Hyo-kun blew them up!" She yelled at the explosion. She started running around and screaming BOOM every now and then.

Renji sweat-dropped at the enthusiasm the small Lieutenant displayed. "Aw man, now she's never gonna calm down. Geez did he have to go all nuclear on us? Talk about overkill." He said exasperated.

Iruka looked at Renji with an impassive gaze. "It's Shintarou's own fault. One of the first things Hyoto taught us as soon as we joined was to never touch his cookies. He made that a rule." He said in an even tone. "Shintarou broke that rule. He is simply getting what he deserves, what he brought upon himself."

Yumichika looked at the ruins that used to be the 11th Division's training grounds. He ran a hand down his face. "The grounds are completely ruined. Captain 's not gonna like this." Yumichika felt like crying. The 11th Division no longer had a place to train. This meant without doubt that Kenpachi was going to seek out other high-level Shinigami to 'train' on, and he hadn't forgotten the last scolding they got from Captain Unohana about putting colleagues in the hospital.

Koge-Fu put a hand on Yumichika's shoulder in a calming manner. "Don't worry, Yumichika-san. You guys are welcome to train on our grounds." He said with a kind smile. "I'm sure Captain wouldn't mind."

Saisūn sighed in an annoyed manner. "Well, Hyoto destroyed his ass. So what if he went a little over the top. Maybe the bastard has finally learned by now." Saisūn started to walk away. "Then we're done here. No one bother me anymore, goodbye." And with that he shunpo-ed away to do his own thing.

The group was silent for a little while, before a heavily scorched Ikkaku Madarame half landed, half crashed on the ground next to them. He was panting and coughing up smoke. Yumichika knelt next to him and poked him in the head. "You alright, Ikkaku?"

Ikkaku snapped his eyes wide open and looked at Yumichika with a panicked face. "Holy fuck! Bro, did you see that shit!?" He exclaimed. He shakily got to his feet and gestured wildly with his arms. "He blew up the fucking fields! That shit is like crazy big! And he made it go BOOM!" Ikkaku made a mind-blowing gesture with his hands. The rest looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I think Ikkaku inhaled too much of Captain Hyoto's reiatsu." Makisarou said, to which Yumichika nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, I think it would be best if I got him to Captain Unohana." He grabbed Ikkaku by the shoulders. Ikkaku led himself be guided away by Yumichika while muttering gibberish under his breath. Yumichika looked back the group. "Well, goodnight everyone. Are you coming Lieutenant?"

Yachiru perked up and beamed. "Hai!" And proceeded to sprint back towards the 11th Division's barracks. Yumichika sighed. Ikkaku pulled on his sleeve hard.

"Yumichika, he made it go BOOM!"

"Yes, Ikkaku. He made it go BOOM."

Iruka looked at the two Shinigami from the 11th Division in a pitying manner. ' _I feel for Yumichika._ ' Was what most of them were thinking at that point.

Hyoto landed behind the group, making them turn around. Shintarou was slung over Hyoto's right shoulder, while his zanpakuto rested over his right. Shintarou's Shinigami robes were almost completely burned off, only covering his modesty and upper legs. His skin had turned an almost black-ish grey. His eyes were big and white, his pupils no longer showing. And a small ghost hung from his mouth, floating in the air. Koge-Fu looked concerned at Shintarou's form.

"Geez Captain, is he gonna be alright?" He asked.

Hyoto nodded. "He'll be fine. Nothing a good night's rest won't heal. He'll be up and running by tomorrow. He'll have to if he wants any free time the next fifty years." Hyoto threw Shintarou down on the ground, what seemed to snap him out of his injury induced 'coma'.

"Maybe this'll teach him not to be a slacker." Hyoto kicked him in the side. Shintarou jumped up to his feet.

"That was completely unnecessary! Who the fuck breaks up a fight by throwing a _fucking nuke_ on them!" He screamed at Hyoto. Who didn't take too kindly to him snapping back at him. Hyoto slammed his fist in Shintarou's gut hard enough to make the rest wince.

Shintarou gasped as all the air was forced from his lungs and excruciating pain filled his nerves. Spit flew from his mouth at the force of the punch. He hunched over Hyoto's fist.

Hyoto glared at Shintarou, and spoke in a cold voice. "First of all, you will talk to me with respect, as you should. That respect includes following orders I give you. Understand.?" Shintarou tried to nod, his movements only increasing the pain.

"Second of all. When I learned you had forsaken your duties once again, I find you fighting one of your fellow Shinigami, one I had given you strict instruction about not fighting anymore. Did you perhaps forget those?" Shintarou shook his head, his arms hanging limply at his side.

"Then can I assume you ignored them?" Hyoto asked coldly. Shintarou nodded shamefully. The rest of the 14th Division looked on as their Lieutenant was disciplined.

Hyoto narrowed his eyes even further. "Then, you ignored your orders, you ignored instructions I gave you. And you ignored them knowing full well what you were doing." Hyoto said furiously. Shintarou slid off of Hyoto's fist, which was still implanted in his gut and fell on his knees. He kept his head down shamefully.

"And on top of that, you ate special edition chocolate-chip cookies I had taken great trouble for bringing into Soul Society without my permission. Does that about sum up what you did?" Hyoto's voice was slamming down on Shintarou like a sledgehammer. He was never scolded like this. Usually it was just Hyoto screaming at him and him shrugging it off, and all would be good in the morning. This was the first time Hyoto used this kind of tone on him. But he guessed he kind off deserved it. Maybe somewhere along the line he had forgotten that Hyoto had saved him from those thugs and had taken him in, trained him and taught him everything he knew.

Man, was he a bad subordinate or what.

Hyoto stood over Shintarou in silence for a couple of seconds, before sighing. "I care about you, Shintarou. I like having you as my Lieutenant, and you're as a son to me." He said softly. "But if you keep pulling stunts like this, I am going to have to relief you off your position. Your insubordination reflects on the Division, you know. And on me." Hyoto put out his hand for Shintarou, who took it and helped himself up.

Shintarou didn't look directly at Hyoto, averting his gaze. He felt ashamed and guilty that he neglected his orders. Hyoto took him in and this was how he repaid him, disobeying him and putting the 14th Division in a bad light. He had never stopped to think about that fact, and felt stupid for not realizing sooner. It could have saved him from being hit by a nuclear explosion.

Hyoto sighed once more, but not in annoyance or fury. He sighed because it seemed Shintarou finally realized the implications of his behaviour. Hyoto was proud of him, even if Shintarou infuriated him sometimes.

Shintarou looked pained. "I'm sorry, Captain. I'm really sorry."

Hyoto smiled at him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Just, please. Let this be the last time." Hyoto pleaded. Shintarou gave a small smile. "Sure thing Captain."

Hyoto squeezed his shoulder tight. "And you're getting me a new box of cookies." He said threateningly. Shintarou squirmed under Hyoto's grip. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, yes, I'll buy you fresh cookies! Now please, let go! Ow, ow, ow!"

Hyoto let go of Shintarou's shoulder and smiled at him. He then turned towards the rest of the 14th Division, who were still watching them curiously. "Now for you guys," Hyoto's voice had changed back to the cold tone.

The group reeled back, not expecting this to happen. Suddenly, that curiosity had transformed into nervousness. Hyoto's face had lost the fatherly kindness he had displayed for Shintarou. Koge-Fu spoke nervously. "Y-Yes, Captain Hyoto?"

Hyoto took a couple of steps forward. The group took a couple of steps back. Even Iruka and Uugi, known for their impassiveness and relaxed nature, looked warily at the approaching Captain.

"Do you mind explaining to me, exactly why you didn't break up the fight. Especially when you knew that I don't condone that behaviour." Hyoto shunpo-ed right in front of the group, startling them. He fixed them in place with an intimidating stare.

Iruka tried to regain some of his usual impassiveness. "W-Well, we thought it was just a friendly spar. Innocent and between friends." He was sweating bullets under Hyoto's gaze. His Captain sure could be intimidating. "We saw no reason to get involved."

Hyoto scowled at his explanation. "You know full well that even though they're friends," Shintarou scowled at being called friends with Ikkaku. "This was definitely not a spar. This was a full blown battle. In which you are required, as instructed by me, to step in and prevent any damage. Both collateral as personal." Hyoto's eyes pierced them.

Makisarou lost his composure. He flew down unto his knees and started to plead, bowing until his forehead hit the ground. "I'm so sorry, Captain! I wanted to stop them! I told the others to stop them when we all found eachother here!" His voice was slightly muffled due to is face being planted in the ground. "But we thought it would be amusing to watch. We hardly get to see them beat each other's faces in! And we were so bored!"

Hyoto sighed and palmed his face. "Alright, alright, I get it, you lacked entertainment. Is that it?" He asked steely.

The group, including Makisarou on the ground, nodded vigorously. "Yes Captain, that's why! That's why we didn't interfere."

Hyoto looked them in the eye one for one, lingering only a few seconds before moving to the next. "Fine, I won't hold it against you. Even I would have to admit that it has been quite boring around here. But this is not the right kind of entertainment to seek." Hyoto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just… go write a book or something, draw a comic or whatever." Hyoto waved them off. "Just go. Get back to the barracks." The group took off with a chorus of 'thank you's'.

Hyoto turned around and faced Shintarou, who hadn't taken off yet. "Keep them in line. That's an order, you hear me?" Hyoto asked Shintarou

Shintarou smirked at Hyoto. "Loud and clear, sir." And he was off, shunpo-ing back to the 14th Division barracks.

Hyoto was left alone at the edge of the destroyed training fields of the 11th Division. His face took on a confused and slightly disturbed expression. "Wow, did I really use that much power?" He asked himself. He couldn't really recall how much reiatsu he had used in that attack. He was lost in the frenzy upon learning off the loss of his special cookies, he had not realized he had used a high-level kido.

' _I meant to use a Sōkatsui, but even in Bankai that wouldn't cause this much destruction. Did I accidentally use a stronger Kido?_ ' He thought questioningly.

Hyoto was brought out from his musings by a heavy thud that landed behind him. Hyoto was suddenly washed over by an excessive amount of Spiritual Energy. He recognized it instantly. He had grown up with the feeling of it after all.

"Did you just nuke the Soul Society, Hyoto!?" The voice of Yamamoto screeched.

 **And there it is folks, chapter 5. This chapter was meant to, quite obviously, summarise the 'Ichigo and co.' invasion of the Soul Society. I think I covered the most of it but I'm not sure, it's been a while since I've watched bleach. So feel free to point out stuff I've missed or skipped over, do keep in mind though that it is all through Hyoto's perspective.**

 **I also introduced the rest of the 14** **th** **Division, all original characters made by me, with all unique powers I've got all stippled out. They will show themselves off during the rest of the story.**

 **Now, as for chapter 6, it's probably going to be a while before I update again. I've got the 'sketch' of the chapter already done (mostly), now I just need to type it out. Now that's the part that's going to take a long time. I am very busy with my studies and personal life (School's a bitch), so I have little time left to write. And I don't always feel like writing, if you know what I mean. I vary a lot. Like I can sit down two hours and write 6 pages worth of text, or spend the entire day and not even get past two or three. It all depends on my mood. That's also why I can't promise a steady upload schedule, simply because I don't know when or how much I'm going to write.**

 **I hope you guys can respect this and won't harass me every day to hurry the fuck up, it'll get done, I promise.**

 **Please review, favorite or follow, to show me your support of this story and to keep it alive. I'll see you all next time.**

 **Darryl the son of Perses**


End file.
